Undertale: Chronicle - 8: End Of Days Part 1: Trial By Fire
by TheOriginalTale
Summary: And now we see, dear readers, watchers, how all the pieces slowly come together. Every secret has a price. Some secrets...may cost you your life. Another chapter in the Undertale: Chronicle Series [WARNING: Some scenes in this story may be disturbing to some readers. Advance at your own discretion.]
1. Past And Present

The cold winter air whistled through the grass beyond the city walls. It reached up, brushing against Asgrid's face. Celia stood on his left, Gerson on his right. Together, they gazed out over the green expanse from the ramparts. Just a quarter of a mile west, the glow of campfires could be seen from the human encampments. He looked up to the sky as the sun slowly began its ascent, beginning to transform the black into a beautiful purple and red.

His gaze flicked over his shoulder as he heard feet on the ladder behind them. Asgore scrambled up behind them, panting.

"Father."

Asgrid turned around, trying to crack a smile to his son, but he was unable to find the strength. "Good morning, son, and merry Christmas. How go the evacuations?"

The prince took a moment to catch his breath. He had been working tirelessly all night trying to ensure civilians could be evacuated from Ebott safely. Asgrid noticed his royal robes were dirty. He had certainly not stayed back to observe.

"The last of the citizens are leaving now."

The king nodded, turning back to look at the camps set up on the ridge. "Good. Now, you will follow them with your mother and Gerson."

Celia shot an angry glare at her husband, giving his side a sharp jab. He glanced down as she spoke.

"I am not going to abandon you here. If you are staying, then I am staying too."

Asgore's eyes widened in shock. He grabbed his father's arm. "I cannot leave you! You'll die!"

Asgrid turned, growling, but both his son and Gerson saw the pained look in the king's eyes.

"Son...you are our future. I cannot risk your life. Now please. Go."

Asgore looked horrified, knowing full well the gravity of the words. He looked helpless. Vulnerable. Like an innocent child. In many ways, he still was exactly that. He never before had to bear the horrors of war. Now, everything had come crashing down around them.

Celia turned to him. "Do as your father says. I promise...we will see each other again someday." The family embraced each other for the last time.

"Now run. Run, and do not look back." Celia kissed Asgore's forehead.

The moment was cut short by a cry ringing out from the human ranks, joined by a war call from the others.

"Orders, yer majesty?" Gerson asked.

"Go with my son, protect him at all costs."

"Yer majesty, I am the Captain of the Royal Guard. I took an oath to stand beside you, and defend you at all costs, laying down my life if necessary. I will not be abandoning you in this dark hour."

"You also took an oath to follow any order of mine without question. And I am _ordering_ you to evacuate with Asgore," the king snarled. "From now on, you are under his command. Any order from him is an order from me. Understood?"

Gerson was still hesitant, but eventually the king won the staredown. "Understood. This way please, your majesty." He nodded to Asgore, sliding down the ladder. Asgore took a last longing look at his parents before following.

With his son gone, Asgrid turned to Celia. "My love, I am begging you. Please go with our son. Spare yourself of this terrible fate. He is going to need you."

Celia shook her head. "Gerson is like a second father to him. He will be enough. I would rather us die together...than live apart. If I am to die here today...then so be it."

Asgrid stared into her eyes, running a hand along her cheek. "You always were stubborn."

Celia giggled. "Some things about us gals never change."

Asgrid chuckled, then both of them grew grave as the army before them surged forward.

* * *

Asgore sat up as an alarm clock started blaring beside his bed. Groggily he reached over, hitting it to turn it off. He put his hands to his face. Another dream… only this one was not. This had been a memory. He hated them. He hated every second of them. Unlike most dreams, these burned into his mind and made it almost impossible to function properly for several hours of the day.

Warm sun filtered through the blinds, birdsong ringing through the half-open window. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, standing up. He got dressed, before wandering downstairs with heavy footsteps that echoed around the empty house. Despite being one of the larger houses on the reserve, it was mornings like this that made the house feel particularly lonely.

He hadn't even picked what he wanted for breakfast before the phone started ringing. He shuffled over, picking up the phone and held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

Frisk's voice sounded from the other end. "Good morning, Asgore!"

Asgore yawned. "Oh, good morning Frisk."

"Long night, huh?" Frisk asked sympathetically.

"It is how it is."

"Well, you know the Prime Summit meeting was today. But if you're kind of feeling off, then why don't you take the day to yourself? I can represent you there today."

Asgore chuckled. "You are too kind, Frisk."

"Comes with the job. Take care of yourself, alright?"

"I will, goodbye."

Frisk hung up the phone, glancing to Mathias. "Asgore's feeling ill today, I can represent him at the Summit."

"Very well, then we must be leaving. We'll be late if we wait any longer."

Frisk followed the prime minister out to the jet waiting on the tarmac for them, pocketing his cellphone and adjusting his tie before climbing aboard the plane. Minutes later, the wheels lifted off the ground. Frisk gazed out the window, shaking his head.

Twenty years. He could hardly believe it had been so long since the barrier had been destroyed. Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary. Frisk had gone off to a University in Slagos seven years after the monsters had been freed, and when he finished his four year studies there he had become an ambassador and representative for the monsters. He had kept his promise to work closely with monsters to make things as easy for them as possible.

Still, despite all the progress, there was always work to be done. Outside of Reston and Estines, monsters still faced much discrimination from general mistrust. Some countries even outright refused monster visitors at the border, but at least back home, things had settled down. They weren't perfect, many humans weren't entirely friendly with monsters, rather they had grown used to them being there.

The world leaders were a different story. Opinions there were relatively unchanged, especially negative ones, despite how hard Frisk and Asgore had tried. Frisk still held some concern for a few key leaders, but after twenty years all had yet to do anything drastic.

Back home, monsters were thriving. Sans' talk show was more popular than ever, and Papyrus now held several awards from his search and rescue job. Toriel's school was now the most popular one in Ebott, and it had allowed for her to purchase two dormitories to accompany the main building, so she could bring in more students. Even small businesses like Grillby's had taken off. Apparently, humans really liked monster food. Funny that.

Undyne was no longer on the regular police force. She had changed occupations to the Special Weapons And Tactics units, otherwise known as SWAT. She enjoyed the high-paced action much more than the often boring life of a traffic enforcer in the small town, but above all, she was still Asgore's captain of the Guard, though at this point it was more of a ceremonial title than an actual role.

Alphys had been very busy as well. Since the failed experimentations on Flowey in an effort to get his soul back, she had tasked herself with improving the quality of life for both humans and monsters as quickly as possible. Her most successful large project had actually been a large-scale upgrade to the CORE. With the Underground empty, they managed to channel the energy it was putting out to make green energy for all of Ebott. It had been an incredible feat that had made international news; there were even talks of other COREs going up elsewhere in the world, and perhaps even eventually making them strong enough to power whole countries.

She had also perfected plasma technology, which saw much success in both the scientific and the medical world. Her discoveries were used to create new types of therapy to cure all sorts of rarer chronic and deadly diseases. It even turned out to be the solution to cure cancer. Her discoveries had been revolutionary, and she was now credited with being one of the most influential scientists of all time.

However, there was also a downside to this, or at least a downside according to her. Plasma weaponry was now commonplace in militaries around the world. This was not something she had originally intended her discoveries to be used for, rather others had created them based off her research. She still was not a fan of this, having wanted to use her inventions for the good of the people, not as a means of destruction, but it had not yet been used in full-scale war, so her worries were beginning to die off.

Then, there was Asgore. The king's mental health had been slowly deteriorating. The guilt of his past continued to weigh more and more heavily on him with every passing year. If there was any good news, it was in Toriel. A few weeks ago, the two had begun going out regularly together, much to just about everybody's surprise. The relationship between them had begun to soften. Frisk hoped they might be able to finally make up after spending so much time apart.

He was jerked from his thoughts as the jet touched down on the runway in the mountains. He once again adjusted his suit as the jet came to a stop, before following Matthias out. There would be more time to think about this. Now, though, it was time to go to work.


	2. Stormy Nights

Frisk grunted as he pulled the parking brake, before shutting the engine off. The sun sank down to the horizon as Frisk stepped out of the car. Beside him, in Toriel's driveway, sat Asgore's car. He locked the car door and walked up the front steps. He knocked, before stepping back to wait, gazing down at his feet. He looked up again as Toriel opened the door, her warm smile meeting his.

"Frisk! Good to see you again!"

Frisk chuckled, and the two embraced. "Hey, Mom." She stepped aside, allowing him in. He knew she wasn't his biological mother, but it just felt right after everything that had happened over the last two decades. Frisk no longer lived with Toriel, but he did have a home right next to the reserve, wanting to remain as close to what he considered his first true home as possible. Frisk hung his thin formal coat up, having driven straight over following his landing back in Ebott after the meeting earlier that day.

"You're just in time. I was about to get dinner out of the oven!"

As he followed Toriel to the kitchen, Frisk spotted Asgore in the living room. He walked over, putting a hand on the king's shoulder.

"Hey. You doing alright?"

Asgore glanced up, seemingly distracted, before he nodded. "Uh, yes. Yes. I am fine, Frisk. Thank you for representing me at the Summit today."

Frisk smirked. "Well, I am a representative. My job is to...represent people."

Asgore rolled his eyes, standing up. They both entered the kitchen just as Toriel set a pan down on the table, and inside was one of Frisk's favourites.

"You didn't tell me we were having meatloaf tonight."

Toriel smiled as they sat down. "Well, I suppose I wanted to surprise you."

The three began to eat in silence. There was an odd solemn atmosphere over the table that usually wasn't present during their regular friday family dinners. Toriel was the one to break the silence.

"So, how was the Summit today?"

Frisk sighed. "Nothing special. Small border disputes are happening with Klazun and Meslux, but apart from that it was the same old."

"What of your thoughts? Did anything new come up regarding monsters?" she asked Asgore.

"I…" He fell silent.

"Asgore, was not able to make it. He was feeling...under the weather," Frisk finished for him.

"You did not tell me you were feeling ill! If you had, I would have brought you some soup!"

Asgore cleared his throat. "It is nothing major. I believe it was just a stomach bug, I'm feeling much better now, really."

He glanced to Frisk, who said nothing.

Toriel huffed. "Well. If you are feeling better, then I will leave you to it. Still, I can prepare some soup for you to bring home if you want."

"That would be nice. Thank you."

Again the conversation died indignantly. The only sounds in the room were those of chewing and cutlery clattering.

As the meal neared its end, Frisk glanced around the room. "Is Flowey still gone?"

Torel nodded. "Indeed."

"It's been two months."

"You know how Flowey is, Frisk. It is his way of finding himself."

"I know, but this long? It isn't like him to go completely off the radar."

Asgore chuckled. "Are you certain? That sounds a lot like Flowey to me."

Frisk folded his arms. "...Alright. It sounds exactly like him. I'm just worried about him. Or...at least, I'm worried about what trouble he could cause."

"Frisk," Toriel replied calmly, "Flowey is more than capable to take care of himself. An if he were causing trouble, I am sure we would have heard of it long ago. He will come back when he feels like it."

"If you say so." After another minute, Frisk stood up. "I need to get back home. There are some documents I need to finish up."

"Very well, it was a pleasure to see you again!" Toriel bid farewell.

Frisk waved goodbye before fetching his coat from the closet, wandering back outside. He walked back to his car, letting it rumble to life as he turned the key. As he backed out of the driveway and began his trip home, his thoughts moved to Flowey.

After Frisk had gone on to university, Flowey had expressed a desire to go out and see the world. They had granted him this under the condition that he wouldn't cause trouble. So far, he hadn't caused any stir, for the most part even keeping out of sight. Flowey would often leave to travel to different parts of the world for days, or even weeks at a time. But two months? He tended to go out when something was on his mind. Something must really have been bugging him to make him disappear for two months.

"But what?" Frisk mumbled to himself.

"I wouldn't have the foggiest idea."

Frisk screamed as a voice spoke from the backseat. His hands flew from the steering wheel and the car shot right, towards a ditch. Frisk grabbed the wheel, managing to wrestle it back as it now moved into the opposite lane. He threw the wheel back to the right, tires squealing as the car spun around, coming to a sudden stop on the curb. The smell of burning rubber filled his nose as he wheezed in shock.

He whipped around, coming face to hood with the Riverperson.

"You humans are good fun," he chuckled.

Frisk took a moment, letting his heartbeat slow before gulping.

"What...is your _problem_?! Do you want to get me killed?!" he shouted back.

"Child, if I wanted you to die, I would do the job myself."

"I'm not a child," Frisk spat. He opened the door, trying to step out, only to be yanked back by his seatbelt. The Riverperson continued giggling as Frisk clumsily undid his seatbelt, his hair now unkempt as he threw open the Riverpersons door.

"Out."

The Riverperson calmly stepped out. Frisk looked from the hooded figure, to his car, then back to the figure again.

"How did you even get in my car?! The doors were locked!"

The Riverperson rocked back and forth on his heels beneath the hood. "Oh, I have my ways."

Frisk took a deep breath, leaning forward to put his hands on his knees. They were shaking. When he looked up, he saw the Riverperson seemed to be staring up at the sky. Frisk followed his gaze. Dark clouds had covered the moon during dinner, and the sun had fully set. The only light beamed out from the headlights.

"I do love a good thunderstorm, don't you?" The Riverperson queried.

Frisk looked back at him, now a bit calmer. "What do you want? I don't have much time."

"Time?" he echoed. "You have plenty of time. More than most, in fact. After all, you can always return and relive life again if you so desired."

Frisk took a step back. "H...How do you know about that?" Frisk hadn't reset since his journey through the Underground, twenty years ago, but he had never told the Riverperson about his ability.

Again, the Riverperson chuckled. "It is as I told you so long ago, there are many things I know about you."

They both looked up as there was a sudden flash of light, followed by a low rumble from the heavens.

"Oh dear. A storm appears to be on the horizon," the Riverperson hummed.

Frisk's gaze slowly lowered. The Riverperson was eerily silent as the rain began to fall. He was getting unnerved by the Riverperson's eerie quietness. It didn't help that despite the rain growing harder by the second, he still somehow seemed to be completely dry.

"Right...well, I need to go. You...take care of yourself, right?"

He turned back to the car, opening the door. He froze as the Riverperson's voice deepened when he spoke again.

"Frisk Dreemurr...do not go gently into the goodnight. Rage, rage, against the dying of the light."

Frisk spun around. "That...That's from a poem! Dylan Thomas! What are you talking about?!"

The Riverperson was already walking away.

Frisk yelled after him, growing more and more wary by the second, "_HEY! DON'T WALK AWAY FROM ME!_"

Another flash of lighting, and another crash of thunder.

"_WHO ARE YOU?!"_

Frisk blinked as the Riverperson reached the treeline, vanishing into the night, leaving Frisk yelling at the air. He continued to stare into night, shaking his head at a third crash. He quickly jumped back inside, hardly noticing that he was now soaked. He turned the engine back on, glancing one last time at the trees before continuing on his way.


	3. The Unearthed Lie

The rain pounded down hard outside, thunder occasionally sounding from the night outside the window. Frisk lay awake in bed. Sleep, it seemed, would not be coming easily for him tonight. The ominous words of the Riverperson continued to bounce around his mind. He jerked suddenly as a voice spoke to him from inside.

"You are still awake, partner?"

Frisk closed his eyes. "Good evening, Chara. It's been a while. Nearly a year now, right?"

He sat up, looking to the mirror he had set up across his bed, to see her staring back at him.

"Yes. Around that long."

"So, what brings you back to talk?"

Chara glanced out the window. "_He _does."

"The Riverperson, yes." He frowned. "You look troubled."

Chara gritted her teeth. "I know. I am. Something about that encounter...it just felt...different, somehow. But, in all honesty, my concern is that he showed up at all."

"He just tends to come and go as he pleases. Why is him doing what he does best a concern to you?"

Chara's gaze bore into his. "It's been so long. Think, Frisk. When was the last time we saw him?"

He tried to turn back time in his memory, searching for any recent instances, but there was none. "Huh. Now that you mention it, it has been a while."

Chara rolled her eyes. "Frisk, the reason it has been a while is because he has not appeared since you were a child. Back when Flowey first came to the surface. He has been silent ever since. And now he just shows up? That has to mean something. Not to mention, he contradicted himself, something he's _never_ done before."

Frisk's frown deepened as his brow furrowed. "How do you mean?"

"The storm," she replied. "He first said he liked thunderstorms, as if he knew one was coming. But then when the storm started to break, he not only seemed to dislike storms, but he treated it like he had never mentioned the storm prior! That's what's unsettling to me."

"I think you're overthinking it. I'm starting to think he's just some crazed lunatic."

Chara glared at him. "You wouldn't have thought that when you were a kid. You would attempt to investigate. What happened to the fiery spirit you had?! The curiosity?!"

Frisk laid back. "I grew up, I guess."

Chara fell quiet. Frisk opened an eye to see she had disappeared from the reflection. He took a deep breath, starting to sleep, but he was again disturbed as he heard his lamp rattling on the bedside table. He slowly sat up again, looking around as more fixtures started rattling. Rumbling began to fill the room.

"Earthquake," He whispered to himself. As the rumbling increased, he frantically leapt out of bed, scrambling beneath for shelter in case the roof started caving in. His breathing picked up as the lamp fell off the nightstand, the bulb shattering on the floor.

He felt the bed shift above him and he put his hands over his head and neck, his forehead pressed to the floor. He closed his eyes tightly shut as more objects began to fall from the shelves. Then, right when he thought the roof might fall onto the bed, the rumbling began to die away, then ceased altogether. He slowly counted to thirty in his head before crawling out, shaking his head as he gazed around his room, now looking like it had been ransacked.

* * *

Shouts rang out, orders barked amongst the human technicians running around the CORE. The earthquake had been larger than average. Not the largest to ever hit the area, but it was enough that serious damage could have been done. Lukas walked around, armed with a flashlight as he tried to spy any irregularities. He knew very well from Alphys' warnings that even the smallest thing out of place could prove to be catastrophic, claiming to have seen such things firsthand. He was not willing to take the chance.

He sighed as he walked outside at one of the lower levels deep in the CORE. The gauges told him nothing was wrong, but he wanted to see them all personally. He grunted as he suddenly tripped on a rock sticking out of the ground. He glanced down, then frowned. The rock looked unfamiliar, and upon closer inspection, looked to instead be polished wood.

"_What in the world is that doing here…"_ He wondered, before calling out, "_HEY!_ I need a shovel down here _now!_"

A moment later, one of the workmen appeared with a supervisor, both of them looking curious as they followed his gaze down to the wood. Carefully, the spade of the shovel dug into the dirt, moving it aside before starting to dig. Gradually, more and more of the strange rock was revealed, until it became eerily clear that it was definitely not a rock.

Lukas breathed in shock. "Is that...a coffin?"

The workmen grunted, getting down as he dragged it from the Earth. The three of them stared at it inquisitively.

"What in God's name is a coffin doing down here?!" Lukas demanded.

The supervisor shrugged. "We haven't really seen graveyards anywhere around here, maybe they just buried their dead wherever they could. Whatever the case, the earthquake must have disturbed the grave. We _should_ bury it again."

Lukas knelt down by the coffin, sliding his hands over the lid before starting to lift it.

The supervisor grabbed his shoulder. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"Monsters don't _bury_ their dead. They turn into dust and which is kept in urns, or spread. I learned that from the museum. It's a tradition. So the fact that there's a coffin here...it's a little suspicious, right? Not to mention, why bury them here? It's hardly a respectable place for a burial ground."

The supervisor let go, taking a deep breath before nodding. The lid was slowly lifted up, revealing a small human skeleton inside. Lukas gasped.

"Oh my god…it's...that's a kid!"

"You don't think that's…" He grabbed the shovel from the workman. Immediately he went to work, stirring the dirt around the coffin all over where they stood. Suddenly, the spade struck wood, revealing a second coffin. Just four feet away, a third lay. Lukas glanced up.

"Get the authorities down here, and call Minister Hemmingway. We're digging this whole area up!"

* * *

**_20 HOURS LATER…_**

Asgore sighed, staring down at the table.

Toriel huffed, setting her fork down. "Okay, Asgore. You have got to start opening up to me. You barely talk when we have dinner anymore, and you have been distracted for weeks now! What is the matter with you?"

Asgore gazed wearily at her, slumping forward to put his chin on his hands. "Everything. It's impossible to do anything without repercussions."

"Gorey, you and I both know that is not what is troubling you. I thought we were trying to trust each other more."

Asgore took a deep breath. "Alright, alright. It is the children. _Those_ children." His breath began to shake. "I can hear them in my dreams...I can see their looks of terror as I strike them down...I feel like somebody has tied weights to my feet and thrown me into an ocean. I just…" He put his face in his hands, starting to weep. "I just don't know if I can cope much longer with all this."

Toriel's gaze softened as she walked around the table, sitting beside him to hold him close. "Why do you not tell the humans about this? It may not be your preferred choice, but it might help ease your guilt."

"What do you think would happen?! It would only provide ammunition to the humans that still fear us! Not to mention, shatter any sort of trust or reputation I have worked so hard to build over the past years."

"You may not have another option. If you keep going like this, it would likely kill you from the inside."

"How do we know that I have not already died?"

Toriel shook her head. "Because I can still see the monster that I love behind your sorrow."

They were interrupted by a firm knocking at the door. Asgore stood up, drying his eyes before answering it. He blinked in surprise when he saw Mathias standing outside, flanked by two police officers.

"Minister Hemmingway. This is...a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Mathias folded his hands in front of him, a serious gaze on his face. "I wish this was a social call, your majesty, but I bring rather grim news to discuss with you. May we come in?"

Asgore glanced at the two officers, then nodded. "Of course."

He led them inside, and Toriel joined them in the living room, sitting beside Asgore on the sofa while Mathias sat down in an armchair, the two officers standing behind him. Mathias closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and considering how to start.

"I'm not sure how good your memory is of the past, your majesty...but you may remember when you first returned to the surface, I queried into your knowledge of the missing children on the mountain. You said you knew nothing of them. Correct?"

Asgore nodded slowly, a hollow feeling opening up inside him. "Indeed."

"Then can you explain to me why six coffins were found in a lower level of the CORE, all containing the remains of _children_? I hardly believe they magically 'appeared' there."

Asgore looked to Toriel with dread. She leaned over, whispering into his ear.

"You may as well tell them, Gorey. If you do not, they will only investigate further. The truth of these things always reveals itself."

Asgore sighed, closing his eyes and lowering his head. "Yes. I was aware of the children that disappeared on the mountain. They had all fallen down below the surface into the Underground."

Mathias's gaze turned into a glare. "Why were they found buried as children? Do not try and tell me that they died of old age, they are clearly the skeletons of youths."

Asgore shook his head. "I...I-I…"

"Your majesty, I demand the truth, and I demand it immediately. If you are unwilling to tell me, I am sure there are other monsters around that would have no problem in telling the story."

Asgore suddenly returned the glare. "No. You will not arrest any of my people for crimes they did not commit."

Mathias arched an eyebrow. "Shall I take that as a confession?"

"Yes. I was directly involved with the deaths of all those six children. I promise you, though, I did not make them suffer longer than I had to."

Mathias leaned back, nodding to the two officers. They approached Asgore who made no move to stop them.

Toriel rose to her feet. "Prime Minister, please consider what you are doing."

His firm gaze shot to Toriel. "Madam, you were married to the king. What is preventing me from having you arrested as an accessory?"

Toriel's gaze grew cold, and it was enough to even make Mathias shiver slightly. "I had nothing to do with the deaths of the children. If anything, I tried to spare them. I just plead that you give him a fair trial."

"Miss. Dreemurr, I can promise you one thing. No matter the circumstance, I always do things the way they should be done. He will be given a fair trial."

Another nod to the officers. They turned Asgore around, pinning his hands behind his back to cuff him.

"Asgore Dreemurr, you are under arrest for the kidnap and murder of six children," one spoke, gruffly. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand your rights as they have been read?"

"Yes," he spoke numbly.

The officers took him by the arms, pulling him from the building. Toriel walked with Mathias to the door.

"I truly am sorry. I know there must be a reason," Matthias spoke. "Asgore does not seem like a monster that would do this out of fun, but that does not make it any less acceptable."

"I understand your motives. Just, please remember what you are doing before doing anything drastic."

"Good evening."

Toriel closed the door, glancing out the window as the police car peeled away. Immediately she broke down into tears. She ran to the phone, her fingers slipping on the numbers as she started to call Frisk.


	4. Long Awaited Judgement

Frisk tugged the collar of his jacket tighter around his neck as he stepped from his car. A bird began to chirp as the sky grew to a dark purple on the horizon, signalling the rising sun. He sprinted up the steps to Toriel's front door, pounding sharply on it.

"Toriel?! It's me! Frisk!"

The door opened a second later, and Frisk paused before stepping inside. Toriel had obviously been crying. She looked like a nervous wreck, her fur unkempt, with bags now under her eyes. Frisk stared at her. When he had finally been woken up by his phone, she had been in too much of a mess for him to properly understand her, though he knew it had something to do with Asgore.

"Alright. What's happened?"

"T...T-They found the bodies."

Frisk froze, realization dawning. "Oh. Oh no. When did they take him?"

"About two hours ago."

Frisk guided her to the couch, helping her sit down before sitting beside her. "Hey. It'll be alright, okay? I'll do everything I can to make sure that...things are played by the book. Did they say where they were taking him?"

She shook her head.

Frisk grabbed a tissue box from the coffee table, looking down as she blew her nose.

"Alright." Frisk kept his tone even and calm. "They'll probably take him to the Ebott Police Station to process him, then put him in prison for now. Does...the press know anything about this?"

"W-Well, at least not that I am aware of."

"It certainly won't take them long." "_They're going to have a field day with this,"_ he thought, before continuing out loud, "I'll give Mettaton a call, tell him not to say anything that could compromise him. Okay? Then I'll head down to the station and find out what I can. I promise I will call you back with any details I come across."

She nodded numbly, and Frisk gripped her hand. "Hey. It'll be alright. We'll sort this out."

She whimpered as Frisk stood up, heading for the door. As he stepped outside, he took out his phone and began to call Mettaton. He was just opening his car when he answered.

"H-Hello?"

"Mettaton? It's Frisk."

Frisk could hear an audible sigh on the other hand. "Oh, darling! What gastly news has just arisen! I was just going to call you! Asgore has been arrested for-"

"The children," Frisk cut him off. "I'm aware. Listen, I don't know much, but I'm on my way to the station to find out more. Is the press trying to talk to you?"

"Unfortunately. I must say, they are rather determined, though this is one spotlight I wished I did not have to take."

Frisk sighed as he started the car. "Well, somebody has to, and you're our best option right now. Just listen to me very closely. Do not say _anything_ that could compromise Asgore, or any of the other monsters. This needs to be handled carefully. We don't want to be starting a war. Understood?"

Mettaton was quiet for a long moment. "Understood."

"Good. I'll call back if I find out anything." He didn't wait for Mettaton to answer before hanging up. He threw the car into reverse, backing out of the driveway. As he began driving into town, he turned on the radio to a national news channel. They were mid-broadcast.

"...urther details at this time. Once again, recapping our breaking story, his majesty Asgore Dreemurr of the monsters has been arrested on suspected murder charges! Local sheriff Madison Gunther released to the press that the remains of six children were found buried just beneath the CORE, where monsters once lived. The king took responsibility, and was arrested immediately. Police are not releasing further details at this time. We now go live to our local correspondent, who is talking to Mettaton, a spokesperson for the monster kingdom."

Over the radio came a clamor of sudden voices, with Mettaton's voice trying to shout all of them down. Finally, one question broke free of the mass.

"Mettaton! Do you know how long the bodies have been buried beneath the CORE?!"

Mettaton was silent, and Frisk held his breath.

"At this time such details are unavailable while the investigation is ongoing."

Another voice rang out, this one from the correspondent. "The murders of six children underneath a mountain, by a king no less, is such a large secret to keep. Were other monsters aware that this was going on?!"

"We do not know that the children _were_ murdered! All we know at the time is that the remains of six children were found! They could have died from an accident!"

Another voice. "It is well known that originally his majesty was hesitant to allow humans down into the Underground for scientific exploration. Can we assume that these bodies are the reason of his concern?"

There was more silence, as Mettaton tried to think of a reasonable answer.

"I...cannot speak for his majesty's reasons. All I can say is that the investigation is ongoing."

"Mettaton! If Asgore is tried and convicted, it is reasonable to assume he will have to abdicate his throne over monsterkind! However, there is no known heir to the throne! Who would take over the leadership?" a finale question rang out.

Frisk and Mettaton both froze. That question had come out of nowhere. Frisk's gaze slowly turned to the radio monitor as there was an eerie silence.

"That is unknown at this time, no further questions."

But the questions kept coming even as Mettaton stepped away from the microphones. Frisk shut the radio off, heaving a sigh of relief. It wasn't much, but hopefully enough to satisfy them until he got to the bottom of this. He glanced up to the mirror on instinct, spotting a familiar friend on the backseat.

"What are your thoughts on this, Chara?"

"In my view, humanity should remember what they did to monsters so long ago. They are angry about six dead children, and yet they say nothing about the attempted genocide on monsterkind. Asriel included. Asgore's actions are justified."

"I don't know, Chara…"

Chara's eyes met his in the mirror. "How do you mean?"

"Well...it's not the fact that Asgore killed that bothers me. It's _who_ he killed. Children, Chara. Kids like you and I used to be. They did nothing to deserve that. Toriel had a point way back when. Why didn't he just absorb the first soul, your soul, then go out and kill six humans who maybe deserved it? Other murderers, or monsters like them? All those children wanted to do, I bet, was return home. They never even got a chance to say goodbye."

Chara looked away, muttering under her breath, "There was a time at which you would have thought the same as me."

"Times change. We need to change with them, or we'll just end up back in the stone age." He glanced back up, seeing that Chara had vanished. He shook his head as he pulled into the parking lot of the police station.

* * *

Frisk was unable to find out anything useful during his trip to the station, having been denied access to speak to Asgore, so he was forced to step back and wait. A day went by. Then two. Then a week, and a month. Throughout the month, more and more police investigators visited the Underground, practically closing it off entirely to the public while full searches were conducted. The entire time, Frisk had been struggling to get details about the ongoing investigations, though nobody had been willing to talk to him about anything.

Flowey had returned home just two days after Asgore's arrest when the news of it went international. He had been surprisingly calm about the whole deal, though Frisk knew he cared a lot more about it than he was willing to let on.

In more recent days letter had come for Frisk in the mail, identical to ones also sent to Toriel, Sans, and several others. This is what he was here to discuss with Asgore.

A loud buzz from a door dragged him from his thoughts. He walked forward in the prison's visiting room, sitting down in the hard, cold chair. He looked up as a solemn Asgore appeared on the other side of the glass. Frisk couldn't help but notice how strange it was to see Asgore wearing a bright orange jumpsuit and not his usual royal purple robes. They both picked up their phones simultaneously. Asgore chuckled sadly,

"It has been some time, Frisk, I wish we did not have to speak like this. What news have you on the investigations?"

"The court date is set as September 12th. From what I've picked together, the opposition believes to have put in a case to keep you here for life."

"Something else is on your mind?"

Frisk shuffled uncomfortably in the chair. "Yes. I...received a subpoena today. I have been ordered to testify against you."

Asgore nodded slowly. "I...I see. Are any others...as well?"

"Toriel, Sans, Alphys, Undyne, and Flowey have all been called to court as well. I don't know why Sans or Flowey would be there, my guess is that it had something to do with the lab below Hotland. From word I've caught around, they weren't just looking into the murders."

"I see. It would appear the odds are not entirely in my favour."

Frisk tried to meet his eyes earnestly. "Hey. We'll make sure to get you the best lawyer in Reston if we have to, to at least give you as light of a sentence as possible."

Asgore's gaze flashed back up to Frisk. "You will do nothing of the sort. I am going to represent myself."

Frisk's jaw dropped. "What?! Are you insane?! You'll never win on your own!"

"That is the idea, Frisk," he growled. "These are actions that I have been forced to deal with for over two hundred years. It has taken its toll on me. I believe the time has come for me to finally face consequences. Come on, Frisk, you know I will just be found guilty anyway, even if they lacked evidence. The humans just do not trust us enough, I am sure of this. Now, I believe you ought to be leaving, you must be busy."

He hung up the phone, firmly ending the conversation.

"Hey! We'll try and get you through this!" Frisk tried to shout through the glass, but if Asgore heard him, he gave no indication of it. The king turned around, leaving Frisk sitting at the chair. With a heavy sigh, Frisk also hung up the phone, standing up. He made his way out of the building, but as he entered the visitors lobby, he froze as he saw the Riverperson standing. Watching. Unmoving. His cloak fluttered in the breeze that did not exist.

Frisk felt his hands balled into fists as he began to stalk towards the Riverperson. Nobody else seemed aware of his presence. The Riverperson turned around, sauntering out of the building and around the corner. Frisk broke into a sprint, charging out the door after him, breathing heavily when he saw that as always, he had vanished into thin air.


	5. Painful Memories

_**WARNING**_

**Starting in this chapter, this story will get graphic in some places. Some imagery used in both this chapter, and coming stories throughout this AU may be disturbing to some readers. Advance at your own discretion.**

* * *

"Asgore Dreemurr, you have chosen to represent yourself in this trial. At this time, I would like to remind you that your right to a lawyer still stands, and you can request one at any time. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

The bailiff nodded, and Asgore walked behind the table marked for the defendant. The bailiff stepped back, standing by the bench, addressing all the monsters and humans in the courtroom:

"All rise for the honorable Judge Harrison!"

Silence fell in the courtroom as everybody stood. Harrison appeared from a back door, nodding at the crowd before walking up the stairs to the bench, taking his seat behind the desk.

"All parties have been sworn in, you may be seated!" the bailiff called out again.

Frisk shuffled his feet uncomfortably on the floor as he sat back down, Toriel beside him. On Asgore's side of the courtroom, many monsters were in attendance, wanting to support him however they could. Unsurprisingly, humans filled the rest of the courtroom. A camera with a blinking red light on a balcony above them pointed down, with the intention of recording every single word of the trial. The judge banged his gavel against the block.

"This courtroom is now in session for the case against Asgore Dreemurr, who has been accused of several crimes against humanity. Mr. Kelly, you can begin your prosecution."

Mylo Kelly stood up, the leading lawyer that had been assigned to Asgore's case. "Thank you, your honor!" He stepped out from behind the bench, facing the jury. Frisk glared at the jury, still angered by the lack of monsters on the completely human jury.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Over the next days of this trial, I will present you with all the facts, all the evidence, to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Asgore Dreemurr is guilty for the murder of six human children, as well as conducting inhumane experiments in an attempt to go to war." He then turned to the king. "I would like to call Asgore Dreemurr to the stand."

Asgore glanced at the judge before standing up, his heavy footsteps echoing around the room. The purple royal robe trailed against the floor behind him. He had been given special permission from Mathias himself to represent himself in the most honorable way possible. He took his place at the witness stand, sitting down to meet Mylo's gaze. The prosecutor began to pace back and forth, though he never took his gaze from the king.

"Asgore, you and your people have had a very...complex history. Am I correct in assuming that the story of these apparent murders goes back some distance?"

"That is a fair assumption, yes."

"I want you to tell us what happened in the events leading up to this rather… 'interesting' incident."

"How far back do you want me to start?"

Mylo narrowed his eyes. "Let us start with the war."

* * *

A flaming arrow struck the ground just an inch away from Asgore's foot. The sounds of battle rung out around him as he sprinted towards the castle, Gerson just behind him. Soon they ducked inside, making for the upper levels where the throne room lay. Outside, Asgrid grunted as he slashed a glowing saber across one of the human invaders, blood flying to stain his white fur and royal robes. He twirled the sword, preparing for the next challenger. Slowly, he and the remaining members of the grand army were pushed backwards onto the steps of the castle. Suddenly, a loud cry rang out over the battle.

"_ASGRID DREEMURR!_"

Gradually the sounds of war died away. A gap in the human line opened up, and Frederick Berinon walked through, the king that had started this whole mess. Asgrid glared down at him, his magic shield and saber still firmly gripped in his hands. The human king raised his blade towards Asgrid, aiming at his chest.

"I challenge you! One warrior to another! A fight to the death! Winner takes all!"

Asgrid's chest heaved. He was already exhausted from the intense fighting on top of two sleepless nights, but such a challenge...it couldn't just be denied.

"Asgrid...don't do this…" Celia spoke, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I have to." He whispered into her ear, "Just remember, no matter what happens, we'll always be together."

She nodded slowly as Asgrid stepped away, walking down the steps to face a smug Frederick. He dropped the magic shield, letting it dissolve as in its place a second saber appeared. He snarled as his two blades came up, meeting Frederick's in a clash of sparks.

Upstairs, Asgore's ear twitched as the sounds of battle seemed to die off. Curious, he went to a window. Gerson paused, looking over his shoulder as Asgore stiffened. Below, he could see Asgrid ferociously duelling with the human king. Gerson placed his hand on the prince's shoulder.

"Your majesty, it is not safe here. We need to evacuate."

Asgore shot him a glare. "No. I need to see this."

With an anxious sigh, Gerson huddled down with the prince, watching the battle. The two warriors were almost completely evenly matched. Every strike one threw, the other met with an equally powerful blow. It almost looked like a choreographed dance, practiced for weeks prior to the duel. Asgore had never seen his father fight so hard.

Asgrid let out a loud shout. Frederick slid his blade along Asgrid's, sweeping under his arm. He turned around, starting to swing down for his head. Asgrid crossed his swords, forced to one knee as he raised them above his head, the x formation barely enough to keep Frederick at bay. Both kings cried out again as Asgrid pushed him off, scrambling back to his feet.

Now, Asgrid went on the offensive, striking hard at his opponent. Asgore felt himself growing more tense with each passing second as Frederick was pushed back to the steps. Frederick glanced behind him as the two duelists moved up the steps, the human king always on slightly higher ground.

Asgore's breath hitched. Frederick jumped right as Asgrid swung. His blades struck the steps, unbalancing him. The human swiped his right leg, and Asgrid fell down onto his injured knee. Frederick spun behind him and his blade drove home through Asgrid's back, exiting from his chest. Asgore's scream of despair was just barely muffled by Gerson's hand across his mouth. The sword was withdrawn and Asgrid fell back, rolling down the stairs as his sabers dissolved. Celia let out a wail of her own, rushing to his side.

Asgore couldn't make out what was being said, but watched as she rested her forehead on his, as Asgrid slowly dissolving into dust. Frederick stalked over behind her, flicking something off of his shoulder. He then lifted his sword, swinging it down. Celia's head had yet to hit the ground before she too was nothing but a pile of dust. Asgore doubled over. He felt sick, lightheaded. A war cry rose from the human ranks as they charged forward, meeting fierce resistance with what was left of the guard. Gerson pulled hard on Asgore's arm.

"We have, to go. _NOW!_" the captain cried.

Tears stung Asgore's eyes, making it hard to see. He tripped over his own feet, only Gerson's firm grip keeping him upright. They ducked into the throne room, the marble slab still pushed away from where the last of the civilians had escaped just earlier that day. Asgore was pushed through first, Gerson following him, pulling the slab back into place as they entered the catacombs. He turned Asgore to face him.

"Son, believe me, I know how hard this is," he spoke. "Your father was my idol, and my closest friend. It is not easy for me to watch him be slaughtered. But I will be _damned_ if I fail his final order to me because I was too busy worrying about him. His final words to me were to make sure you survived this massacre. I will see that I die before I lose you in this war. Now come on. We'll have time to grieve later, but right now, you need to get it together. Your people need you."

Asgore nodded, gulping back another sob as he followed Gerson into the stale darkness of the tunnels.

* * *

Asgore's voice trailed off, a lump forming in his throat at the memory as he finished the story. Mylo's voice broke through his thoughts.

"So, you escaped through the catacombs. Please, continue."


	6. The Spark That Lit the Fire

"Asgore?"

He didn't respond, staring down at the polished wood of the stand in front of him.

"Asgore," Mylo repeated, more sharply.

"Enough!" Judge Harrison barked. "Mr. Kelly. While his majesty is on trial for crimes against humanity, I would like to remind you that at this time, he is still a king. I expect him to be recognized as such in my courtroom."

Mylo nodded, though he scowled at the scolding. "Understood, your honor." He looked back to Asgore, who by now had snapped from his trance. "_Your majesty..._you left us when you fled Ebott through the catacombs. Please continue."

Asgore cleared his throat. "Yes, I apologize. These memories are...not events I like looking back on. I rejoined with what was left of our army and the civilian populace just outside the catacombs in the forest. From there, we had to flee for five days, from Christmas until the 30th. It was a hard trek. Our destination, Mount Ebott. We knew there were caverns below, and if we could get there undetected, it may just have been safe enough to rebuild.

"Unfortunately, it would not be so easy. The human armies found us. Hunted us down like foxes on rabbits. In order to give my people more time to escape underground, I stayed back with the rest of the army in a last stand against your kind…"

* * *

Asgore practically saw red as he stalked forward, driving the points of his trident through the chest of the human soldier that lay before him, the human's arms raised defensively above him. Asgore cared not for his pleas for mercy. They had shown him none, they would get none in return.

He heard a battle cry from behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he raised his left hand, which clutched the handle of a blade, parrying the blow away before stabbing it through the human's chest. The human began to sputter, collapsing to his knees. Asgore planted his foot on his chest just beside the saber and kicked fiercly, watching as the body rolled down the small ridge he stood on. He looked to the right, spotting Gerson making his way over to him.

"Your highness!" the captain called out over the sounds of battle. "The last of the civilians have retreated below the mountain! This battle was lost the minute we engaged in it, we must join them!"

Asgore started to nod, then paused when he spotted a familiar, and unwelcome, face amongst the fray.

"Not yet! There is something I need to do! Begin the retreat, I will join you!"

Gerson followed his gaze to Frederick, shaking his head. "Your majesty, don't do it. Is it really worth it?!"

Asgore didn't listen. He was already charging towards his opponent. The trident dissolved, leaving just the long blade, which he now clutched with two hands. Frederick looked over smugly at Asgore as he approached, blocking his swipe to the king's midsection. As the two locked blades, Frederick sneered mockingly.

"Your parents lay in piles of dust in your burning home! Your treasures are now forfeit, your _lives_ are now forfeit! Your armies are in full retreat! What do you hope to gain from this?!"

Asgore gritted his teeth as he pushed back. "Perhaps I will not get to win this war. But at least I will get the satisfaction of seeing you dead at my feet." One by one, as soldiers fell around the two kings, they continued to duel, pushing each other back and forth. Amidst the fray, the field covered in dust and bodies. As the minutes ticked on, Asgore's strikes grew more fervent, and less coordinated. A red haze started to descend across his vision as he lashed out with all the strength he had left.

Frederick's smug grimace hardened as the battle went on, pushed onto the defensive as Asgore unleashed his fury on him. The new king pushed the old further back, again their blades locking, but this time it was Asgore pushing down on Frederick. He growled as he glared into the king's eyes. One of his hands left his sword, a fireball materializing in his left hand, which he threw straight into Frederick's chest.

The human king cried in pain, stumbling backwards as he dropped his blade. He struggled to throw his burning chestplate off, still groaning in agony from the seared skin. Now, it was Asgore who held the smug expression as he approached Frederick, who stood up straight, reaching behind him.

"You may have won this war, King Berinon...but I refuse to allow you to boast the glory of it." With these words, Asgore slashed with his sword. Frederick's hand shot out just as the saber scored across his neck. He tried to cry out in pain, but it was gurgled as blood poured from the open wound. The king gasped, grabbing his neck as blood seeped through his fingers. He fell over backwards onto his back, his head striking a rock. As blood pooled around him, his body gave a few dying twitches, before laying still.

A wave of pain hit Asgore, and he grunted as he doubled over, seeing blood dripping down below. He looked down, seeing the knife Frederick had stabbed into the left side of his abdomen in his dying moments. Gerson appeared by his side, trying to help him up.

"Are you alright?" He knew the answer as soon as he saw the knife buried in his king's abdomen. He slung one of Asgore's arms over his own shoulders. "Don't pull that out. That might be what's keeping you from bleeding out. Let's get you underground."

Asgore grunted, leaning against his friend as they began to retreat with the army towards the mountain, leaving the body of his foe behind.

O-o-o-o-o

"We retreated under the mountain, our only option to wait and hope that humans wouldn't come in and slaughter us in our sleep. Thankfully, you decided it would be better to try and starve us to death. We woke up to find that you had summoned the grand wizards to create a magic barrier, sealing us belowground forever. Or, so we then thought. We conducted explorations into the rest of the Underground. Within five years, everybody had settled down in one place or another, and a much smaller palace had been constructed close to the barrier.

"It was dark in the Underground, until...Asriel, my son, was born. He gave us hope. Hope that things...could change. How big a fool I was to think it could last. The first human fell, a young girl by the name of Chara. She was badly injured. However, contrary to what you might think, we actually took Chara in, and adopted her as one of our own. She did not want to return to life on the surface. She wanted to stay with us. Since my son was such close friends with her already, I decided to allow it. I had hoped it would be the start towards peace with humans.

"But...she got sick. And she died. She had been with us for over a year by that point, and I saw her as my own daughter. She had become a part of our family..." Asgore trailed off. Frisk couldn't look at Asgore, knowing full well what was coming next.

"My son was devastated. In his grief...he absorbed the soul of Chara. He turned into a being with incredible power. He took her body, and passed through the barrier to the surface." Tears began falling down Asgore's cheeks. "He took her to her village, which is now this very town. There, he came face to face with humans. He could have killed all of them. He could have burned the whole town to the ground. But he didn't. Because he did not want to harm them! All he wanted was to allow Chara to see the surface's beauty one last time! He was trying to honor a sibling's dying wish…" He broke off again, the tears breaking free. A look of rage consumed his face as he looked first to Mylo, then the jury, then every other human in the room.

"And you _SLAUGHTERED _him! He was of no threat, but you still slaughtered him like an animal! He was my son! He was innocent of whatever crimes my kind committed before the war! Tell me! What did my son do to deserve such a violent end?! Would you have done any different Mr. Kelly?"

Asgore's gaze turned to the jury.

"Would any of you have done any differently?! Imagine if you were ruling a kingdom...that has just been reduced to ruin...a kingdom with no hope, in a dark, dark place...and all of a sudden, a light appears! You would have hope. Hope, that things could get better. And then out of nowhere, that light is taken away from you. Stolen, by an enemy you can not fight against. How would you react?! You would want to start a fire, a fire to re-spark the light, and you would do so by any means necessary."

The jury looked uncomfortable, and Frisk saw many of the humans now looking down, none wanting to meet the king's furious gaze. Even Mylo paused. Frisk felt a lump in his throat. He had heard the story before, but he still knew more about it than Asgore did. He was growing concerned the other secrets surrounding their deaths, the ones that had remained hidden for centuries. Would those come to the forefront? If they did, how would that impact him? Asgore took a few deep breaths, calming himself down.

"He died in my arms. We had his funeral just the next day. I let my anger and emotion consume me. In a fit of rage, I declared war on all of humanity. I vowed that any human that fell down into the Underground would die. I would gather enough souls to break the barrier, and then I would kill every single human that had wronged us. But the moment I killed that first child...I knew that I had made a mistake. But still, I admit that every human that fell into the Underground died by my orders.

"Not because I wanted to, but because I felt that I had to. I can still hear their dying screams in my sleep. I can see their terrified faces. I have been haunted by them ever since. But…" He cleared his throat, finishing his story. "There you have it. The story that you will not find in the museums."

There was an eerie silence around the courtroom, broken by Mylo's voice.

"No further questions." Asgore, having no defense, stood up and stepped down from the witness stand, returning to his seat. Mylo adjusted his tie, then nodded.

"I would like to call Toriel Dreemurr to the stand."


	7. The Second Testimony

Toriel slowly rose from her place on the benches, footsteps again echoing around the silent courtroom as she took her place on the witness stand. Frisk could see she was struggling to maintain a calm, neutral expression.

"Miss Dreemurrr, thank you for joining us today," Mylo began. "I would like to start by asking what your current relationship is with the defendant."

"At the moment, we are merely friends. Nothing more," she replied.

"But correct me if I am wrong, but at one time you two were married to each other. You sat beside him on the throne, as a queen, did you not?"

Toriel glanced to Asgore, before nodding. "Yes, that is correct…"

Mylo folded his hands behind his back. "How far back does your relationship go? I can imagine you were married before the war, even."

Toriel now shook her head. "No, actually, we had never met prior to the war. We...met just after the Mountain Massacre…"

* * *

Toriel held her knees against her chest, resting her chin upon them as she sat, back against the cold cavern wall. Around her were quiet murmurs. The tension was so palpable one could cut it with a knife. Occasionally a monster would start crying, either in fear or from the grief of a lost relative. Already, she had seen two monster children orphaned by the war.

Her eyes flicked to the cavern mouth as heavy footsteps approached. She and several other monsters stood, preparing to flee deeper into the caverns, but instead there was a collective sigh of relief when monster soldiers began to file into the caves. She shuddered as she realized there were far less returning than she had seen stay behind. Those that returned looked dazed, as if caught in a trance. Blood and dust stuck to all of the their armour.

She saw a turtle helping one of the monsters inside. She blinked once, then realized that this was the prince he was aiding. The turtle must have been the captain of the guard, though now she hardly recognized him. The signature red cape that flowed behind the captain was no longer present. A third look allowed her to see that it had been folded up, and was wrapped around a portion of the prince's belly, the hilt of a knife peeking out. Only then did she notice Asgore's twisted expression of pain as he limped further into the cave.

Gerson helped him to sit down against the wall, close by. She could hear his laboured, hard breathing, made difficult by the no-doubt excruciating pain. The turtle crouched down, examining the wound.

"We'll have to see what we can do about that. I'll run around, somebody's gotta have bandages laying around _somewhere_."

Toriel approached cautiously. "U-Uh, excuse me?"

The turtle glanced over his shoulder. "Not now, missy, the king can answer questions later."

She gulped. With the prince being unofficially declared king, that meant one thing. Asgrid and Celia both perished in the siege. She shook her head. Not the time.

"I think I can help. I have green magic I can heal him with."

The captain glanced back up at her, then looked down to Asgore. "You alright with that, yer highness?"

Asgore nodded, gritting his teeth. "Y...Yes, I'm fine with it...nnNNNGH!" He let out a low groan as Gerson stepped away.

Toriel knelt down in front of him, examining the blade. She took a deep breath of relief. "It seems to have missed any major organs or arteries, but...I'm going to have to pull it out in order to properly heal you. It's going to hurt. A lot. Alright?"

Asgore nodded, starting to sweat. Toriel handed him the cape, and Asgore slipped it in between his teeth, gagging himself. Toriel grasped the bloody hilt, as she slowly dragged it out of the new king. The moment she started to move it, Asgore bit down on the gag, letting out a muffled scream of pain. She winced as she continued to drag the blade further and further out from the deep wound.

"I-I am sorry, but I can not yank it out and risk damaging you further. I know it hurts, just a little bit more."

Fresh blood seeped from the wound as she continued to remove it, finally extracting it fully. She laid it down beside Asgore, then let her hands glow a soft green. She glanced up at him, before laying her hands across the wound, moving them slowly along the fur to ensure the magic got right to the bottom of the wound. She slowly brought her hands back, continuing to allow them to hover just above the injury. She closed her eyes, concentrating as slowly but surely, the wound healed in its entirety.

Asgore breathed deeply, taking the gag out as he leaned back, inhaling shakily. Toriel laid her hands on her knees once the deed was done, huffing a little herself.

"There. You should probably take it easy for a day or two, but after that you will be good as new."

Asgore opened his eyes, a small smile spreading along his face as he gazed at her. "And here I had thought all the Capri-Bovarians had died in the war. May I ask your name?"

"Uh, Toriel. My name is Toriel."

* * *

"We were married just five years later," Toriel finished.

"Can you tell us, not as a friend of Asgore, but as a queen, what your thoughts are of Asgore's actions?" Mylo asked.

"I am not a queen anymore. I gave up that life a very long time ago."

But you still have the Dreemurr name, correct?"

"Correct...but I have given up the title of queen."

Mylo rolled his eyes. "Allow me to rephrase the question. What were your thoughts of his majesty's actions, back _then_?"

"I thought it was...unacceptable to declare war against humanity. I ended up leaving him, placing myself in personal exile to the Ruins. It was then that I unofficially abdicated the throne."

Mylo's eyebrow raised. "So, in a time when you have just lost two children, your husband made a rash decision, but instead of trying to console him, you instead left him to be alone, and ignored what was happening?"

"I did not ignore what was happening," she growled. "At the time it was impossible to reason with him. Any children that fell, I tried to convince to stay in the ruins as long as I could. But, as can be expected, eventually they wanted to leave. I did not force them to stay, but I still knew when they left what their fates would be."

"So you knew full well that you were allowing children to walk into a death trap. Some might consider that makes you an accessory to the murders."

Toriel's eyes widened. "I am no such thing! I condemned Asgore's actions, I still do!"

Mylo's grin grew smugger. "Yet you did nothing to stop him."

Toriel bit her lip, unable to think of a rebuttal. He was right.

"No further questions."

The judge looked to Asgore, who said nothing. He nodded to Toriel, who stepped down from the witness stand.

The judge banged his gavel. "This courtroom is adjourned for today. All parties and jury members, please be back by 11:00 tomorrow morning."

Mumbling broke out amongst both the humans, and monster groups. Asgore didn't move from his seat.

Toriel paused by it, glancing down at him. "Are you alright?"

Asgore didn't look up at her. He looked hurt. "I thought we had grown to be more than just 'friends' again. I would have liked to think you regarded me higher than that."

Frisk glanced over his shoulder as Toriel replied, "I...I am sorry Asgore...but I was just...answering Mr. Kelly with what I thought was the best way possible."

Asgore nodded numbly. "Mhm. I understand. You go ahead. I'll join you later."

Toriel nodded, catching up with Frisk as they left the courtroom. Asgore had been given special permission to spend the nights of the trial in a guest room at Frisk's home, provided they did not discuss the case.

Frisk glanced to Toriel, speaking quietly as they entered the parking lot, "Are you alright?"

Toriel shook her head, a tear sliding down her cheek. "No. No I am not."


	8. Illegal Experimentation

Asgore didn't sleep much overnight. None of the participants of the trial did. Frisk didn't drive Asgore back to the courthouse the next day, as instead, they were both escorted there. Law enforcement had shown up at their home that morning to express concern over angered citizens from all over Reston.

Upon their insistence, Asgore had been brought to the courthouse in an armoured car with bulletproof windows. Six police officers joined the convoy, two of them on motorcycles, the other four in cars in front and behind. The streets had been lined with infuriated humans who spewed insult after insult at the car the entire trip, some even daring to hurl rocks at it. Frisk was relieved when they arrived at the courthouse.

They sat down as Harrison entered the room, taking his own seat. He once more banged the gavel, and the room fell quiet.

"This court is now in session. Mr. Kelly, please continue with your prosecution."

Mylo stood up, stepping out from his desk. "Thank you, your honor. I would like to call Undyne Vernilot to the stand."

Undyne stood up, taking a deep breath before she proceeded to the witness stand.

"Miss. Vernilot," Mylo began, "you have had a rather long history with the defendant, correct?"

Undyne shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't consider it as long as some, but I have had a decently long history with him, yes."

"I see. What is your current relationship with the king?"

Undyne seemed to sit up a bit taller, pride filling her eyes for a moment. "I am currently his majesty's Captain of the Royal Guard, as I have been for nearly one hundred years."

"But, I was under the impression that the Royal Guard was disbanded after monsters were sealed underground? That is what your museum claims at least."

"That is correct, but after the deaths of Chara and Asriel Dreemurr, his majesty reinstated the guard."

Mylo wrote something down on his notes. "I see. So, after you returned to the surface, you enrolled in local law enforcement, and you are now a SWAT member, if that is accurate. Yet, you are still the captain of the guard?"

"Correct."

Mylo's eyes seemed to flash with admiration for just a split second. "You have an impressive resume, but I want to ask, as captain of the guard, what were your orders prior to leaving the Underground?"

Undyne shifted uneasily in her seat. "They were quite simply in reality. The first was obviously to defend his majesty at all costs. We are guards, after all. The second...was to bring any humans that fell into the Underground before Asgore, or have them killed on sight."

More murmurs filled the room, but they died almost instantly. Mylo again, began to pace.

"Is it safe to assume, then, since there was almost no threat from humans, Asgore reinstated the guard for the mere purpose of collecting souls quicker?"

Undyne didn't respond for a long moment, but was finally forced to yield. "...Yes. That is a fair assumption."

"And what of you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you were a guard captain, Miss. Vernilot, did you follow these orders in killing humans?"

"..." Undyne bit her inner lip.

Mylo stopped pacing, staring straight at her.

"Captain, there is still much that needs to be discussed. Please answer the question."

"Fine. I did follow these orders, _personally_, in killing the humans," she growled.

Another shockwave of murmurs flew up from the spectators. This time, Harrison had to bang his gavel.

"Order please! Order!"

The voices died off before Mylo continued.

"How many children did you kill?"

Undyne closed her eyes, thinking back. "Two. Out of the six, I killed two." Frisk had a hard time sitting still. While she didn't know it, that was a lie. He too had been a victim, raising her total to three.

"Can you point in this courtroom to the exact monster that gave you these orders?" Undyne slowly raised a finger to Asgore. Mylo nodded. "No further questions."

Asgore remained silent, and so Undyne stepped down. Mylo turned to the jury.

"We have been discussing much about these murders, but what of the other crimes against humanity? It is true that his majesty is also here to be tried with the ordering of inhumane experimentation. To begin presenting evidence on this charge, I would like to call Alphys Almaro to the stand."

A nervous Alphys rose from her seat, folding and unfolding her hands over and over as she made her way over to the witness stand, slowly sitting down behind the desk.

"Troubled, Miss. Almaro?"

Alphys nodded. "Y-Y-Yes. I a-apologize, I have a n-nervous stutter."

"That is quite alright. I would like for you to explain the relationship you have with the defendant to the jury."

Alphys glanced to Asgore, then to the jury. "I-I am his majesty's r-r-royal scientist. I have been s-since 1843. M-My job has involved creating n-new technology to further b-benefit life underground, as well a-as carry out any pr-pr-projects that he w-wanted completed."

Mylo clasped his hands behind his back, walking to his own desk. "But, the experimentation in question actually occurred prior to you being made head royal scientist, correct? At the time, there was another?"

"Y-Yes. At the t-t-time of the Determination Experiments, o-or DT Experiments for short, I-I was an apprentice u-under the tutelage of D-Doctor Wing Ding Gaster."

Mylo took out a small black book. Alphys recognized it instantly, and in the stands she saw Sans grow tense, the lights vanishing from his eyes. Mylo turned to the jury, holding the book up for all to see.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I would like to present Exhibit A: The personal journal of Doctor Wing Ding Gaster. Curiously enough, he has written in his own font composed of many shapes and symbols, most notably hand signs. We have managed to decode necessary portions of the journal, and have decided to call the font Wingdings. Contained in this journal are exhibits A-1 through 19. These are individual journal entries documenting the work of the experiments. I would like to read them aloud."

He opened up to a marked page, and began to read.

"Entry #1: This is it. The time has come to do what Asgore has commanded of me. I will be the one to free us all. I will unleash the power of the soul.

Entry #2: The objective of these experiments it to make a "Super Soldier." A soldier capable of being stronger, faster, and tougher than an average mortal. But to create souls artificially would take years; years that Asgore does not seem to want to wait for. So, we will have to use what we have now, the souls of monsters.

Entry #3: But even if the monster is stronger, faster, and tougher, its soul will still be weaker. So, we will need to find a way to strengthen the soul of the monster, to make it unkillable if possible. Some human souls have the ability to persist after death longer than others. If only I could find out what it is that makes these souls last…

Entry #4: I've done it. Using my machine, I've extracted it from the human souls. I believe this is what gives human souls the strength to persist after death. The will to keep living...the resolve to change fate. Let's call this... Determination.

Entry #5: I've asked all over New Home for monsters that had "Fallen Down." The first bodies arrived today. Some of them have weeks left to live, so our primary focus will be on those that just have days. I tried to select from monsters that worked on the CORE. There were several monsters that sustained severe injuries during the tremor some years ago and during the explosion. I hope I will be able to right my wrongs. Once I know more about "Determination", I will hopefully be able to inject it into the bodies. If it helps revive the monsters to their more natural state before the accidents...then our freedom may be closer than we thought.

Entry #6: The first injections were completed today. Unsurprisingly, the results weren't immediate. I do not know how long I should expect them to take, though my guess is it could be several days yet. I just hope Asgore has the patience to wait that long.

Entry #7: I wanted to try a sort of side experiment. I have established that Determination is what gives humans the will to keep living. We are already experimenting with the effects on a living monster. But...what would happen to a subject that's neither human...nor monster?

Entry #8: I selected the candidate for this secondary project shortly after collecting the subjects for the DT experiments. In the center of Asgore's garden is a golden flower, one larger than all the others. I wonder...what happens when something without a soul gains the will to live?

Entry #9: Things aren't going well. None of the bodies have turned to dust, but there has been no change in any of the subjects' states either. People are starting to ask me what's happening. I don't know what to do.

Entry #10: Experiments on the flower appear to have failed. It doesn't seem to be any different from the other subjects. Whatever, it's a hassle to work with anyway. The only thing that's changed is the seeds sticking to me and not letting go.

Entry #11: Earlier in the week I conducted more research on human souls, trying to see if there was anything more to learn about Determination. During my search I discovered a video camera hidden away. Today I worked up the nerve to look at its contents. I don't dare write here what was on them. I don't think Asgore's watched them. I don't think he should."

Mylo glanced to Asgore, who now was looking curiously at Alphys. She also hadn't seen what was on the tapes, all she knew was that they existed. Sans had made it clear they were to be kept hidden no matter what. The secrets within could be devastating. The jury, unfortunately, also looked curious at the mentions of tapes.

"Entry #12: Nothing is happening, I don't know what to do. I'll just keep injecting everything with Determination. I want this to work.

Entry #13: The flower's gone.

Entry #14: We've used the last of our Determination for a third and final dosage on the subjects. If we do not see results within 48 hours, I will officially declare the experiments a failure.

Entry #16: Everybody that had fallen down has woken up. I was beginning to think they were goners.

Entry #17: The experiments appear to have been a success. I didn't want to get my hopes up when the first monster woke up, but it's been four days and nothing has seemed out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like they were necessarily "improved" in any way. So, it would appear this research was a dead end. Oh well, at least we got a happy ending out of it. I've notified all the families and let them know their loved ones will be returning home tomorrow, barring any complications. I will continue to monitor the subjects though for a couple of weeks to see if there are any new circumstances.

"The final entry just keeps repeating no, over and over. However, there is one more note that needs to be read. It is not an entry pertaining to the experiments, rather a suicide note that seems to be directed to his two children, Sans and Papyrus Gaster.

"To my sons, Sans and Papyrus. If you are reading this, then I am now dead. There are many factors for my decisions that night, but I assure you that none of them involved you. You two were my pride and joy, and it was not your fault. Life had decided to be unusually harsh to me, and to be frank, I was unable to cope with it any longer. I do wish you two all the best going forward. If you ever need anything, I want you to ask Doctor Alphys first. King Asgore is not in a good place. His judgement is clouded. Be mindful of any decisions he may want to make for you. I hope that one day we will see each other again, in a better place. Be good my children. - Wing Ding Gaster.'"

Asgore looked down as the note was read out. Mylo's voice snapped him back.

"In entry number four, Doctor Gaster makes mention of a particular 'machine' he used to extract what he called 'Determination' from the soul. Can you elaborate on this machine?"

Alphys nodded immediately. "W-We called it the D-Determination Extractor. I-It was a machine that could...almost, s-suck the life force out of a soul. Of c-course, the soul had to be separated from its h-host first. The soul in question t-that we used had been kept in a c-containment pod to keep it stable outside of its h-host."

"Can I ask whose soul you used for the experiments?"

"...T-The soul of C-Chara Dreemurr, who h-had passed away shortly beforehand."

"Perhaps you would like to inform us as to the nature behind these experimentations? Given that the late Doctor Gaster is not among us to speak himself."

Alphys took a deep breath. "The objective o-of the experiments was as e-e-explained in E-Entry 2. D-Design a super soldier b-by charging t-the soul of a monster, then using t-the extra-powerful souls t-to break the barrier. From there, these s-soldiers would help Asgore wage war against all of humanity."

"Last question," Mylo pressed, "What was Asgore's vision of the war, do you know? Was he intending to play by the general rules of war?"

Alphys glanced to Asgore, mouthing an apology before shaking her head. "I-I do not believe so. It is my personal b-belief that Asgore w-wanted to repay the suffering w-we endured in full, and more. Which...w-would mean a near, if not complete genocide o-of the human race."

More shocked murmurs broke out, which again had to be put down by Harrison's gavel.

"No further questions, your honor."

Alphys slowly rose, glancing at the journal now laying on Mylo's desk. As she walked by, she whispered to Asgore, "I-I-I'm sorry…"

She knew what was about to happen next, and nobody who knew the truth was looking forward to its revelation.


	9. The Darkest Secrets

Mylo wasted no time in the day as Alphys sat down, already calling up his next witness.

"I would like to call Sans Gaster to the stand."

Sans slowly rose, his hands tucked nonchalantly into his pockets. He stepped away from his brother, who watched with wide, concerned eyes. The skeleton took his time in walking up to the witness stand. He flopped down, placing his hands behind his head as he gazed at Mylo.

"Mr. Gaster...you are the son of the late Wing Ding Gaster, correct?"

Sans nodded, closing his eyes. "yep. 'preciate you readin' that note back again, it wasn't hurtful enough when i read it myself the first time."

Mylo glanced up to him, then continued as if nothing had been said. "You worked on the DT Experiments with Doctor Gaster, correct?"

"yep."

"What were the results of the experiments? The entries in Doctor Gaster's journal never specified."

Both Frisk and Papyrus noticed a small twinge in Sans before he hesitantly replied, "The...er...subjects, started to get better, as the entries said, but then they deteriorated rapidly. In the end, the subjects were all but eliminated in their normal state."

Mylo looked smug. "And yet, they continued to persist. Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to present Exhibits B1 through 5. A series of five photos taken by investigators. We believe these are the subjects that were a part of the experiments." A television was rolled out, and the images were quickly displayed on it. Horrified mutters filled the courtroom. The pictures showed the dark lab, though each picture contained a different one of the horrendous beasts. Even those on the monster side were shocked by the photos.

"What are they, Sans?"

Frisk could tell Sans was getting more and more agitated. "We call them amalgamates. They were what happened when the subjects...melted together. I abandoned the project after Gaster's death. Alphys has been trying to find a way to reverse the effects ever since.."

Mylo pointed a finger to him. "What you were doing, was toying with something that was not meant to be toyed with! Were you even remotely aware of the consequences?!"

"'Course we were! We all knew the risks! We even tried to warn his majesty about them!"

"But despite knowing these, you still went ahead with them! Why?!" Mylo pressed.

The lights vanished from Sans's eyes. Frisk began to brace. "We had orders to. If we didn't do it, the doc would have lost his job, and then Alphys, and his majesty would have just found somebody else who would do it without question!"

Mylo turned his back to Sans, his voice still ringing loud and clear though. "Still, you have been at the root of what has no doubt been over a hundred years of suffering for these creatures! YOU are the ones that conducted the experiment, not Asgore. YOU could have stopped them at any time, but you didn't! It makes me wonder if you monsters care about each other as much as you claim!"

A sudden gasp from the crowd. A chill ran down Mylo's spine as he heard a growl from behind. He turned around. Sans was now standing, one of his fists glowing a bright blue. Beside him, a gaster blaster hovered. Its angry gaze swept the room, falling first on Asgore, then to Mylo. Sans gritted his teeth.

"You...were not there. You have no right to say what choice we had."

Mylo was silent. Frisk began to stand up, ready to charge Sans to stop him if necessary. The judge's eyes were locked on the skeleton.

"Mr. Gaster...please consider your actions very carefully...we do not want to make this worse than it already is…"

Sans was rigid as he stood still. Frisk heaved a sigh of relief as the light vanished from Sans's hand. He flicked two fingers and the blaster also disappeared. He sat back down, but offered no apology. Mylo adjusted his tie.

"Moving on. I would like to turn our attention back to the murders of the children. A warrant was acquired to search your house, Mr. Gaster, and we discovered three tapes. I would like to present Exhibits C1 through 3. These are the same tapes referenced in Exhibit A11. We managed to create digital copies of the tapes, which will be played now."

Frisk noticed both Asgore and Toriel slump a bit more as Asriel's voice rang out.

"Okay, Chara, are you ready? Do your creepy face!"

There was a playful squeal, followed by laughter.

"Oh! Wait! I had the lens cap on."

"Well, too bad! I'm not going to do it," Chara's voice fired back.

"What!? You're not gonna do it again?" Asriel asked, before gasping. "Come on, quit tricking me!" There was a slight flicker on the black screen, signalling the switch to the second tape.

"Howdy, Chara, now smile for the camera!" The screen remained black as hysterical laughter was heard.

"This time, I got you! I left the lens cap on… on purpose! Now you're smiling for nooooo reason! Ahahah!"

"Is that what you take for a joke, Asriel?"

"Heheheh… Hey, what's wrong? Why are you so down?"

"I… do not know what you mean. I am perfectly pleased, see?"

"You can't fool your own brother, Chara. If you were really happy you'd have started laughing when I did. What's bothering you?"

"Asriel… do you recall our… kitchen mishap."

"Oh, yeah, I remember. When we tried to make butterscotch pie for Dad, right? The recipe asked for cups of butter... But we accidentally put in buttercups instead."

Asgore let out an amused chuckle, a dreamy smile forming as he remembered the rather...curious days.

"Yes, precisely that event."

"Yeah! Those flowers got him really sick. I felt so bad. We made Mom really upset. I should have laughed it off, like you did…Uh… anyway, where were you going with this."

"The… the camera doesn't need to be on for this…"

"Huh? Turn off the camera? Okay…"

The screen flickered again, though there was still a black screen. From the words that came next, the camera must have accidentally flicked back on.

"I...I don't like this idea, Chara."

"Are you crying, Asriel?"

"Wh...What?" Asriel sniffled. "N-No, I'm not...big kids don't cry."

"You know it has to be this way."

"Yeah, you're right…" His voice trailed off.

"What, do you doubt me?" Chara snapped.

"No! I'd never doubt you, Chara. Never!"

"Good. Now, we need to be strong. It is going to be tough, but we will need to push through."

"Y...Yeah! We'll be strong! We'll free everyone. I'll go get the flowers."

The screen flickered again, and the television clicked off. Mylo turned back to Sans.

"These tapes were found in your home, Mr. Gaster. What I am assuming is that you were studying them. You must have been trying to discern the meaning behind them. You know what they mean, do you not?"

If Sans were physically capable of frowning, he would be without a doubt. "Yeah…"

Mylo folded his arms. "Tell us what you discovered."

Sans looked down, then up to Asgore apologetically. "Chara's...death...was not an accident," he spoke over the rising murmurs. "She consumed an excess amount of buttercup flowers, poisoning herself. They had a plan for Asriel to absorb her soul, cross the barrier, collect six souls, and then return to free monsterkind. It...would appear that Asriel got cold feet as they were executing the plan, resulting in his death."

Shouts of anger rose from the monsters, some calling him a liar, some voicing disbelief. It took six bangs of Harrison's gavel before silence fell.

"No further questions," Mylo grunted.

Sans slowly stood, walking over to Asgore. He patted his shoulders, the king leaning forward to put his head in his hands. Frisk had never seen the king cry in public, but now he looked like a wreck. He put an arm comfortingly around Toriel's shoulders, seeing an equally horrified look on her face. Mylo was going to call up his next witness, but Harrison stopped him, seeing how distraught Asgore was.

"This court will now take a fifteen minute recess."

Mylo glanced to Asgore, then rolled his eyes. Frisk mumbled to Toriel, "I'm so sorry…"

Toriel slowly looked to Frisk. "D...D-Did you know?"

Frisk looked down, unable to meet her gaze. She nodded, standing up and walking outside, bumping into another woman walking quickly into the courtroom. Harrison arched a curious eyebrow as the woman leaned over, whispering into Mylo's ear. He mumbled back, and Frisk just barely picked up his words.

"Are you certain?"

The woman nodded, and Mylo stood up. "Your honor, if I may, I would like to request a private meeting in your chambers during this recess. New knowledge directly relating to this case has just arrived."

Harrison was hesitant, but he nodded. "Very well, Mr. Kelly, you have twelve minutes."

Frisk shot a glare at Mylo as he walked to the back with the judge. Frisk glanced down to Flowey, nudging his pot.

"How are you doing?"

"I don't want to talk about it," he muttered bitterly.

Frisk nodded, leaning back to wait for Mylo to return.

When he did, Frisk was deeply concerned by the extra smug look on the lawyer's face. The judge banged the gavel as he sat down.

"This court is now back in session."

Mylo stood up. "I would like to call Flowey to the stand."

Frisk rose, handing Flowey's pot to the bailiff. The bailiff carried him to the witness stand, setting him down. Flowey narrowed his eyes as he glared menacingly at Mylo.

"Now, Flowey, you are the only subject from the Determination Experiments that can properly speak for themself. I want you to tell us, as a subject, what your time was like in the laboratory?"

"It felt weird," he grunted. "I wasn't a part of the main experiments, more a side project...of the main project. An ordinary flower injected with Determination."

Mylo again clasped his hands behind his back. "Did you feel...frightened?"

Flowey thought back. "...Yeah...I did…"

Mylo smiled. Flowey wasn't sure if Mylo was trying to look sympathetic, but if he was, he was certainly doing a terrible job at it.

"What did you do when you woke up?"

Flowey rolled his eyes. "What do you think I did? As soon as I figured out how to move around I got the hell out! The place gives me the creeps."

The judge glanced down. "Flowey, language please."

Flowey grumbled under his breath as Mylo continued.

"What if you hadn't been able to escape? What if Asgore had forced you to return to the lab?"

For the first time in the trial since his own testimony, Asgore spoke. "Objection, relevance."

Harrison looked to him. "On what grounds?"

Asgore was now glaring at Mylo. "This is a courthouse where the full story is supposed to be revealed, and facts are to be presented. We should not be focusing on what 'might' have happened, or other 'what if's.' We should be focusing on what actually did happen."

The judge nodded. "Sustained."

Mylo glanced to Asgore, then changed the question. "What were your thoughts on the experimentations from the eyes of a test subject?"

Flowey sighed. "The...The theories behind them came from a good place, but proper safety precautions were never carried out, resulting in their failure. If Asgore had listened to the warnings and acted accordingly, maybe things would have been different."

Mylo nodded. "No further questions." When Asgore said nothing further, the bailiff once more handed Flowey back to Frisk, but Frisk immediately had to set him down at Mylo's next words.

"I would like to call Frisk Dreemurr to the stand."


	10. Determining Fate

Frisk took a deep breath as he took his seat, staring dead into Mylo's eyes. The other wasted no time in getting to work.

"Now, Frisk, you have had a rather...exciting early life. You, in fact, are closer to these monsters than most. Correct?"

"Correct. When I was about...twelve years old, I was dared by a few friends to climb Mount Ebott. I fell down into the Underground. During my fall, I was badly injured, and Toriel Dreemurr took care of me for the next few weeks. From there, I travelled through the Underground, in the end freeing all of monsterkind."

"It is a rather curious story. The barrier was rumored to have been very strong, equivalent to that of seven human souls, but monsters did not have all seven souls at the time. So, how _was_ the barrier broken?"

Frisk chose his words cautiously. "I...do not know, to be honest. My memory is not good when it comes to events so far back."

Mylo broke a thin smile. "Frisk, you do know that lying in court is a federal offense, right?"

Frisk tried to feign innocence. "I'm...not sure what you mean!" He chuckled nervously. Mylo smirked.

"You know _exactly_ how the barrier was broken. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I would like to present exhibit D."

The television flickered back to life, displaying what appeared to be a part of an old stone wall. Carvings and pictures littered the rock. While it meant nothing to Frisk, he saw Sans suddenly sit bolt upright.

"What are we looking at Mr. Kelly?" Frisk asked.

"This," Mylo explained "is a portion of some very ancient ruins found one level up from where Toriel used to live. These symbols are a language unknown to humans, as it did not match any language dead...or alive. Until today. Just this very morning, the final transcripts of these ruins were decoded. Rather fascinatingly, they did not portray stories as we expected, more of...a 'directory' of sorts. It lists several historical figures all throughout time, both dead and presently living today. What's even more curious, our technology dates these ruins back well over 5,000 years, when intelligent life first became prominent on this earth.

"Asgore Dreemurr, you are displayed on these writings. So are Sans and Papyrus Gaster. Wing Ding Gaster was portrayed on these writings, Asgore's father Asgrid, and many others. But who I want to focus on is you, Frisk. Because you, too, are on these walls. And, it says that you...have a very unique ability. The power to change...fate."

Frisk tried one more time in vain to play dumb. "Are...you sure it is not somebody else?"

Mylo folded his arms. "It listed your precise name. So tell me. How was the barrier destroyed?"

Frisk took a deep breath. "Just...you will have to bear with me, it's...a rather complicated story."

"We have time."

Frisk leaned back in his chair. "This...power. It is what allows my soul to not just persist after death, but go back and...change the way things happen. I have learned that I can even use this power if I have not died, although I have not chosen to do so. We call it the ability to 'Reset.' The one that broke the barrier, though, was not me. It...was actually Flowey."

Flowey's head shot up. He began to shake his head, but Frisk knew there would be no backing down now.

"When I confronted Asgore with Toriel and my other friends from the Underground, Flowey appeared. He...tried to kill me, but I persisted. So he stole the human souls, along with Asgore and Toriel's, and turned into...himself."

He took a deep breath. "Flowey is the dead prince, Asriel Dreemurr." Shocked cries rang around the room. Flowey burrowed down into his pot to hide from the now prying eyes.

"I will have order in my courtroom!" Harrison barked, banging his gavel.

When the ruckus died down, Frisk continued. "Flowey, er, Asriel, tried to wipe out everything, but I was able to bring out the good in him. It was he who used the soul power to destroy the barrier, before letting go of the souls, and turning back into a flower."

Mylo however, still wasn't finished. "Well, that answers that question. However...you said you confronted Asgore. You also said you _knew_ what your ability was. This means...that you had used it before, correct?"

Frisk bit his lip. "I...yes. That is correct."

"Tell me," Mylo slowly turned around to face the courtroom. "Did somebody in this courtroom kill you, Frisk, forcing you to...reset?"

Frisk knew Mylo already knew the truth. "...Yes."

"Can you indicate whom?"

Frisk hesitantly nodded to Asgore. "It was his majesty, Asgore Dreemurr."

Mylo nodded, knowing he had won. "Yet despite him killing you, which I do not doubt was less than pleasurable...you continued to work with him for years to come. In fact, you still do to this day as an ambassador and representative. Why? Do you see him as a good person?"

"I like to believe so. The circumstances as to why he did what he did prove that while guilty, he should be forgiven! He was doing what he thought he needed to do for his people. I can respect that. So yes, I do consider him a good person."

"But, he slaughtered you. In cold blood."

"Well...yes, but-"

"So how can you call somebody a good person, when that same person tried to kill you? Did you not consider how close not just you, but all of us came to death? If Asgore had killed you...do you believe he would have taken the seven souls and waged war on humanity as promised?"

Frisk looked to Asgore. He wanted to say no. But...all he could see in his memory of that day was the anger, the almost sorrowful anger present in the king's eyes as he tried to strike mercilessly at Frisk. In the end, it had been not him but Toriel who had managed to calm him down. Had it not been for her…

"Yes...I do believe that is what he would have done."

"No further questions."

Frisk stepped down from the witness stand, trying to sink into the floor as he neared Asgore, walking past him. As he sat back down with Toriel, Mylo spoke again, now addressing the jury.

"As you can see, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there is more than enough evidence to convict Asgore for murdering six children, ordering inhumane experimentations, plotting genocide against humanity, and the intended absorbing of seven souls. I urge that you find this monster guilty for his crimes. Your honor…" He turned to the judge. "There is a law. It is known as 'Xavier's Law.' It dates all the way back to the year 0. Monster and humans both agreed that even plotting to absorb a human soul would result in a death sentence. There has been no law since to replace it. I would like to remind you, that Asgore intended to absorb not one, but seven souls, and to keep that law in mind during sentencing."

Frisk's eyes widened in shock, as did Toriel's. Frisk leaned over. "Xavier's law?"

Toriel whispered back. "A raven named Xavier absorbed the soul of an explorer. It nearly sparked war during the days of King Ausgrid, Asgore's grandfather. They agreed to punish any plotting, or act of absorbing a soul, by death, to discourage it."

Frisk gulped as Mylo stepped back. "The prosecution rests."

The judge nodded, then turned to Asgore. "Your majesty, you are representing yourself, at this time I would like to remind you that if you desire a lawyer, this is your last chance to request one. Once you stand, you will be forfeiting that right. You may begin your defense."

Asgore stood up, saying three words. "The defense rests." There was an eerie silence as Harrison gazed at Asgore in shock.

"These...are very serious charges, your majesty. With so much evidence, are you sure you do not wish to say anything?"

Asgore glanced to Mylo. "What is there to say? No matter what, I would still be convicted. But I do have a few personal words to the jury. Mr. Kelly built his case well against me, but he has also slighted so many other friends and families in the process. He has attempted to paint all monsters in a negative light. Whatever punishment you believe they deserve, lay it upon me instead. We are an absolute monarchy. They were merely following my orders. Had they not, they likely would have been arrested for treason, knowing how I was back then. I beg you, have mercy on my people. I, and I alone, should take the blame."

With this, he sat down. Harrison slowly looked to the jury. "The jury is now dismissed to discuss the case, and render an impartial verdict." He banged his gavel, signalling the end of the segment. The jury members stood up, filing out of the room.

* * *

An hour went by. Then two, then three. It was obvious that they had already decided Asgore's fate, but were deciding what to do with the others. All members in the court proceeding, save for the judge and jurors, had been given permission to return home when it neared midnight, with instructions to arrive back at the courtroom at 9:00 AM for conviction, and sentencing.

Toriel had noticed how glazed over Frisk's eyes looked as they walked up the house inside, Asgore having retired upstairs for the night. He fell back against the couch, shaking his head. Toriel sat beside him.

"What troubles you so? I can tell there is something below, not just the trial."

Frisk closed his eyes, sighing heavily. "For as long as I can remember, all I've ever wanted to do is what was right. I'm...I'm beginning to question what that means now. If it means anything at all!"

Toriel gave an equally sad sigh. "The world has changed. None of us can go back. Well...not fully, anyway." She giggled, poking some fun at his ability. "All we can do is our best. Sometimes the best thing...might just be to start over."

Frisk kept his voice quiet, not wanting Asgore to hear, "What will you do when Asgore dies? You know it's inevitable."

Toriel leaned back. "I do not know, Frisk. But, I know I will have to move on. We all will."

Frisk nodded slowly, gazing blankly at the wall. The only sound filling the room was the constant ticking from the clock on the wall, slowly counting down the minutes to conviction.


	11. The Judge, The Jury, and The Executioner

Breakfast that morning was quiet. Nobody wanted to speak. Everybody already knew what was going to happen in just an hour's time…but Frisk still had unanswered questions.

"Hey...one thing still bugs me." Asgore glanced up curiously from his plate. "Why did the War For Humanity start in the first place? What reasoning could have been behind something so devastating?"

Asgore wiped his mouth clean with his napkin, setting the fork down before replying.

"A long time before that war, there was another. We called it the Continental War. All the human kingdoms broke out in war against each other. My father, Asgrid, was just able to keep monsters out of the war. The bloodbath lasted a hundred years before peace finally set in. There was no winner. The monster kings of the time saw a chance to profit, so they lent out massive amounts of money and agricultural support, with the intention of someday gaining it back in full, with interest. As the centuries crawled along, monsters began to pressure the human kingdoms to pay them back faster, until...they decided to retaliate in brute force. The rest is history."

Frisk looked down, sighing deeply. "It's never a black and white story, is it."

Asgore stood up. "Nobody is ever truly innocent in this world. Now, shall we be off? We don't want to be late."

Frisk and Toriel both nodded, following Asgore outside. Before Asgore could climb into the waiting car, Toriel tugged him back.

"I...I know that we have had our differences in the past...but beneath the fierceness...I can understand now why you did what you did. I should have been there for you. I was not. Can...can you forgive me for that?"

Asgore smiled softly, the same smile that Toriel had grown to love when they first met.

"Tori, it is not you who should ask for forgiveness, but I. I am the one that got us into this terrible mess. I acted out of emotion, and refused to listen to you. My emotions caused the deaths of innocent children. So...could you find it in your heart to forgive _me_?"

Toriel's bottom lip quivered, tears forming in her eyes. "I-I...I forgave you l-long before the trial." She wrapped her arms around Asgore. The king was slightly taken aback, before embracing her as well, feeling her crying into his shoulder.

"Do not cry, my dear. You will find a way to get through it. You always do."

She looked up into his eyes. "I do not know if I can lose you again…"

Asgore began to hum a soft tune, the same one he often sang to their son whenever he was frightened. Gradually Toriel calmed down. He slowly broke off the embrace.

"We will see each other again soon. Hopefully...in a better place."

She gulped down another sob, stepping back as Asgore cast one more longing look to her. The armoured car revved to life as Asgore approached, the four police bikes surrounding it. Frisk glanced to the mailbox, frowning when he saw a black raven sitting atop it. Its gaze flicked to him, seeming to study him. It then let out a small shriek before taking flight, flapping up into the air. Frisk's gaze followed the raven as it began to glide on the wind towards the courthouse, before stepping inside. Undyne was already waiting. Toriel waved to them, intending to take her own car to the courthouse.

The convoy set off. Frisk looked out of the windows as they entered the downtown section of Ebott. Angry humans lined the streets in large crowds, shouting insults at the car. Asgore refused to meet any of their eyes. Some humans sported massive signs. Suddenly the crowd began to run into the street, slowing the convoy to a near halt. Gradually they continued to try to move through it. Frisk checked his watch just as it struck 9:00.

* * *

In the courthouse, the judge took his seat. He glanced to Asgore's place, noting that the king was not yet present. But there was a schedule to keep. He looked to the jury.

"Have you reached a verdict?"

The head juror stood up, opening a letter. "Your honor, we have. We have found Alphys Almaro _guilty_, of willing participation in inhumane experimentation."

* * *

Frisk's eyes fell on a man who seemed to be tailing the car through the crowd. His face looked familiar, but he couldn't tell from where.

* * *

"We have found Sans Gaster _guilty_, of willing participation in inhumane experimentation."

* * *

The raven's cry sounded again. Frisk looked up, and nearly jumped.

* * *

"We have found Asgore Dreemurr, _guilty_, of ordering inhumane experimentation!"

* * *

The raven had joined a mass flock of others, the group nearly blocking out the sun as they fluttered overhead.

* * *

"We have found Asgore Dreemurr _guilty_, for the murders of six human children!"

* * *

The flock of ravens broke up, leaving Frisk gazing at a tall building.

* * *

"We have found Asgore Dreemurr _guilty_, for the murder, and attempted murder, of Frisk Dreemurr!" The judge banged his gavel.

* * *

Frisk saw a flash from the building moments before the glass of the car's window shattered. Frisk ducked. Before he could think, the windshield exploded. The driver slumped over the wheel. The car careened right, into the ground. It rocked as several of the protestors were struck, then the car hit an electric box, overturning onto its side. Frisk looked to Undyne. Multiple gunshots rang out from the crowd.

"_KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!_" she screamed. She punched out one of the windows above them. She glanced out, spotting four armed assailants quickly closing the gap. Screams of terror rang out from the civilians as they fled. Undyne reached to the front seat, grabbing the handgun of the dead driver. She poked out, firing two shots into the chest of one of the gunmen. He crumpled down, and she ducked back.

"Why don't you just summon spears from the ground?!"

Undyne gritted her teeth. "No time! I'd be dead before they sprouted!" She continued to return fire. Frisk crawled to the front of the overturned car. He grabbed the radio, yelling into it.

"We're under attack! We need help, _NOW_! We're on the corner of Fraser and Woodfield!"

A voice responded over the radio. Frisk couldn't hear over the gunfire slamming into the underside of the car. He maneuvered back to Undyne.

"I think we've got help coming, what should I do?!"

She glanced down at him. "Just stay down and let me handl- _AAAUGH_!" She cried out in pain, jerking back as a bullet slammed into her left shoulder. Immediately she was struck by a second to the right of her chest.

"_NO!_" Frisk yelled as Undyne collapsed back into the car. Then, he noticed she wasn't turning to dust. There was still hope. The gunfire ceased, but he could hear the footsteps slowly closing in around the car.

His eyes shot back open as more gunfire rang out. This time though, it was not directed at the car. Shouts of anger and pain sounded from outside. Silence fell back over street. Frisk heaved a sigh of relief when a voice called to the car.

"Friendlies! Assailants are down!"

Frisk poked his head out, seeing armoured police officers standing over the bodies of the gunmen. Around the street, he saw the four officers who had been escorting them were dead on the street. Over a dozen other bodies littered the sidewalks and the streets, no doubt ordinary people caught in the crossfire.

"Get an ambulance! There's a wounded one in here!" The officer sprinted over, climbing on top of the car to look down at Undyne. He spoke into a radio.

"I've got a live one, get an EMT down here stat!" He then nodded to Frisk. "Help me lift her out." Frisk nodded, handing her limp arms to the officer. The two managed to lift Undyne out of the car, blood trickling down from her wounds. The officer looked down as Frisk sat back against the roof.

"Where's the king?"

Only then did Frisk see all the dust scattered around the car.


	12. The Inside Job

Frisk stared down at the plain white tiled floor, hands folded in his lap. Toriel sat across from him in the waiting room. Sans and Papyrus also sat nearby, Sans's eyes were dark. Alphys and Flowey were nowhere to be found, though Frisk was hardly surprised by that. The hospital had been busy all day from the firefight that had taken place just that morning. Footsteps approached and Frisk looked up, expecting a doctor. He was surprised when he saw Matthias staring down at him. The prime minister nodded at Toriel first.

"Good afternoon, Miss. Dreemurr. I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

Before he could address Frisk, Toriel gave him a foul stare. "I have been told that I can not use my magic to heal Undyne. I demand a reason, as they refuse to give me one!"

"It is a matter of safety and security. Do not worry, we have some of the best doctors in the world and state of the art medical technology here. She is in perfect care. Frisk, if I may, I need to request that you come with me."

Frisk glanced to Toriel uncertainly. She nodded, and Frisk stood. He began to follow Matthias out of the emergency room, walking to his waiting car. They climbed inside, and the car set off, the destination already known to the driver.

"Are you alright?"

Frisk nodded. "I'm...fine. More or less."

Matthias nodded sadly. "Such a tragedy about his majesty. Admittedly...it wouldn't have gone well in court, but...death sentences are carried out painlessly. Not like that. What of Undyne? I understand we have the technology, but I have not heard much from the staff."

Frisk shrugged. "From the sound of it, they say she'll make it. But it was a very near thing."

Matthias leaned back, and Frisk glanced to him. "Where are we going?"

"The crime scene."

Frisk frowned. "Isn't it against protocol to bring those not investigating onto a crime scene? What about contamination?"

"This...is a rather unusual case. I am following whatever leads I have. A king was shot through a bulletproof window. I want to find out how. You might be able to shed some light on the investigation."

Frisk fell silent. It didn't take long for the car to reach the scene of the crime. Barricades had been set up around the crime scene, with reporters clambering around outside. Past the barricades, the scene was swarming with investigators. Frisk climbed out of the car. The swarm of reporters immediately moved to him and Matthias, questions bombarding them from all sides. Both ignored them, making their way through the sea of people to the scene.

The car still lay on its side on the curb, shattered glass laying around it. The bodies had been covered up with tarps. Frisk glanced to Matthias.

"How many?"

"Nineteen dead, including the four gunmen, with another dozen wounded," he answered. "Frisk...I want to ask you something in confidence. During the shootout, did Undyne ever fire upon civilians?" he asked, walking over to one of the bodies.

Frisk shook his head. "I can't believe that she would. Why?"

Matthias pulled back the tarp to reveal one of the heads. "Because of him." The body was Mylo Kelly, the lawyer that had prosecuted Asgore, and who caused so much ruckus during the trial. Frisk understood clearly now.

"She wasn't a fan of him. But she's a good monster. I can't see her firing upon an unarmed assailant."

"What about the children she killed?"

Frisk's stare turned into a glare, but he couldn't find an answer. Matthias covered the head back up. "It's fine. Rumors were already starting to spread, I wanted to put them down as soon as I could."

They walked back to the overturned car. "We know that two shots at least were fired. One at Asgore, and one at the driver. Do you know which one came first?"

Frisk nodded. "Asgore was hit first, the driver just a second later. From there, the car turned right, banked off the electric box there, and flipped onto its side."

Matthias's gaze followed the points to the tire tracks and the destroyed box, nodding. "I see."

The lead investigator spotted them, walking over. "Minister Hemmingway! I didn't expect you to appear on my crime scene."

"It's a political assassination on home turf, George, of course you would see me here," Matthias grunted. "What can you tell about the shooter?"

George nodded, looking down at a tablet he had notes written on. "The windows were bulletproof, and the car was armoured. That being said, it must have been at least a 50 caliber rifle. The holes in the car and casings found in the street don't match, so we have reason to believe that the sniper only actually fired the two shots that killed Asgore and the driver, then made their getaway. We think he was in one of the buildings lining the street, maybe from the upper windows."

Frisk shook his head. "No, he wasn't in these buildings." He pointed to the tallest building he could see, nearly two miles away. The investigator shook his head.

"That's impossible! From that far away would require too precise a shot. Nobody could pull off that shot! Let alone twice!"

"It came from that building," Frisk insisted. "Just before the glass on the window shattered, I saw a flash near the top of the building."

The investigator looked uncertainly to Matthias, who nodded. The investigator sighed. "Alright, let's go take a look."

The three took the road to avoid debris from the car littering the sidewalk. As they crossed the barricades, the mass swarms of media personnel continued to follow them down the road. Matthias gritted his teeth, getting a little fed up. He turned around and spoke in a cold, authoritative voice.

"As of right now, we are releasing absolutely _no_ details on the investigation. That. Is. All."

He spun on his heel, continuing on his way. Frisk blinked in admiration as the press slowly dispersed. Clearly, Toriel was not the only one that had that kind of effect. Soon they reached the building. They could barely make out the distant crime scene from this distance. The building, though still surrounded by scaffolding, was going to be a large apartment complex. The work force luckily had finished work for the day, leaving the job site looking abandoned.

Without working elevators, they all got feelings of dread at the massive number of stairs and ladders to climb. Nearly ten minutes, and many sore steps, later, they reached the roof. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary at first glance. The gravel covering on the roof crunched beneath their feet as the three wandered around, hunting for any sign of the sniper. Soon, Frisk spotted something.

"Hey, I got something!" The others walked over, and followed Frisk's gaze. An imprint had been left behind in the gravel, as if somebody had been kneeling down by the roof's ledge for an extended period of time. It would have had to have been at least an hour, which was unusual for a workman as they'd often change spots. George's foot brushed something aside. He got down on his own knees, slipping on blue thin, plastic gloves before picking it up.

"This is the place, alright." In his hand was a bullet casing. The sun glanced off of a second laying just a foot away. George looked up to Frisk and Matthias.

"This is a large casing. 50 caliber for sure. To make two clean shots, though...he'd have to have some serious luck on his side. Must have made the shots and then fled."

Matthias grumbled. "Luck had nothing to do with it. I'll leave you to it." George nodded as Matthias began walking away. Frisk went after him.

"One thing doesn't make sense! We have plasma weaponry now, you can even buy plasma guns in stores! Why in the world would they have used guns that still fired normal bullets?"

Matthias answered immediately, "They aren't used as much, so they're harder to trace. They knew that. This was a coordinated assault, they knew exactly what they were doing. That rifle, though? No way that was off the shelf. We don't sell high caliber weapons like that to ordinary civilians. You can only get something like that if you're in the army."

"So...you know who did it, then?"

"A hunch, at least. First Sergeant Axton Reese."

Frisk scratched his chin. "That name sounds familiar…"

"It should. He was the one sent to extract you from the monsters when you first emerged from the Underground. He's the squad leader of an elite unit known as the Raven Company. Black ops. Off the books. Any mention or record of them is classified. As far as the world is concerned, they don't exist. They take orders from me, and me alone. They receive the highest level training. It _had_ to be one of them! They're the only ones with enough training to make that kind of a shot with that high caliber of a rifle!"

They started heading down the stairs.

"So you're saying that our own soldiers fired on Asgore...but you're in direct command!"

"I thought I was."

Frisk was growing more confused by the moment. "So...what's going on?!"

Matthias shook his head. "They must have had some reason to do this. I'll go over any record that exists of them, along with documents only I have access to. If there's a reason, we'll find it. For now, I'm going to order a lockdown on all forms of travel in or out of the country. I don't want him escaping, and I don't want him having any _friends_ sneaking in to smuggle him out."

Frisk nodded. "I should be returning to the hospital."

"Very well. I appreciate the assistance," he grunted, then glanced over. "Hey. I know it's...rough. But, we're going to get this guy. Alright?"

"...Yeah. Got it," Frisk replied with a small grin. As they reached the bottom, Frisk left to go return to the hospital. A squad car rolled up just as Frisk was out of earshot. Matthias waited until Frisk had rounded the bend and disappeared, before leaning in to give the officers their orders.


	13. The Arrest

The trip back to the hospital took longer than Frisk would have liked. With all the media swarming around the main roads of the city, trying to get what information they could, Frisk had been forced to take some of the back roads and alleyways to get back to the hospital. When he arrived, Toriel was waiting for him just inside the emergency room, looking much relieved.

"What's the news?" he asked.

"Undyne just woke up a minute ago, they finished the surgery just after you left," she responded. "It was successful."

Frisk heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Can I see her?"

She nodded. "You can, I can take you to her." She led him through one of the side doors, the pale white hallways surrounding Frisk as she guided him through the ward. Along the way they passed a few other rooms, where sobs were audible, and others where pained groans resonated behind the doors. Frisk shook his head. The attack had not just affected the monsters, it would seem. Toriel opened a door guarded by two local officers, letting Frisk in before she followed.

Inside, Undyne laid on the bed, left arm suspended in a cast. She looked over to Frisk with her trademark smug grin.

"Hey there, Frisk."

Frisk sat down on a chair beside the bed, grinning back at Undyne. "Hey. How're you feeling?"

Undyne chuckled. "First time I've been shot when I'm _not_ wearing a bulletproof vest, packs a bigger punch than I thought. I'm a little bit sore, but overall? I'm good."

Frisk looked down, his smile fading. He knew the news would hurt, but he wanted to get it out of the way.

"Asgore's dead."

Undyne's chuckle turned sad as her smile faded. "Yeah...I heard. Sniper, right?"

Frisk nodded. "I just got back from the crime scene. He was up in a construction site, about two miles away. No way you could have seen the shot, you didn't do anything wrong...you're taking the news surprisingly well, all things considered."

"I was trained on how to suppress my emotions when I became a guard member. We aren't supposed to let our feelings get in the way of our work. Could cause a delayed decision, which could end badly."

He stared earnestly at her. "Undyne, feelings are a part of who we are. We can't just suppress them, that's not how things work."

She looked over to him, and Frisk saw a different pain in her eyes. "Frisk, he wasn't just my boss. He was one of my mentors. I really looked up to him...I wanted to be as strong and as brave as him. As confident as him. But hearing that testimony? I never realized just how broken he really was. I didn't realize how broken any of us really were."

Frisk looked down. "Court proceedings have a way of making a foul mess of things. But the good news is that you'll be okay. I'll continue working with Matthias to try and allow Toriel to heal you as much as she can. About the shooters, they were trained military assassins that used to work for the Reston Armed Forces. Matthias is digging up whatever old records of them he can find. Right now, we're just missing one, the sniper. Undyne, we'll get this guy. I know it."

Undyne smirked. "You better. I'll kill you if you don't." She jerked her head towards the door. "Looks like you've got to go somewhere."

Frisk chuckled ad the joke, then glanced back to see two other officers standing just inside the door, gazing at him. Frisk nodded to the wounded captain before getting up, following the officers out of the room and down the hallway.

"What's going on?"

"It will be explained outside," an officer responded.

Frisk frowned, curious as he followed them back through the ER and out of the door. There, outside, stood Matthias himself in front of a car with tinted windows.

"Frisk, I must apologize, but what I am doing is to ensure national security in this difficult time."

Frisk narrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Minister, what's going on here?"

"I am placing you under indefinite house arrest for the time being. I have ordered these two officers to escort you to a safehouse outside of Ebott. They are going to guard you from there. You will still be allowed to have contact with the outside world. I am doing this for your own safety."

Frisk glared at him, his hands tightening into fists. "Why are you calling it house arrest, then, if you are protecting me?"

Matthias stared at the ground. "Because of your power. I do not understand it. I do not believe any of us do. I do not want our apparent enemies to try and exploit it for their own gain. Just...please do not resist. This whole matter is difficult enough as is."

"Fine...fine. So long as I can still communicate with my friends," he huffed.

"Of course you can. If you would step into the car please?"

Frisk walked past the prime minister, stepping into the car before the two officers could push him in. They climbed into the front seats. The car peeled away from the hospital, leaving Frisk gazing out at the tinted windows at the fading building.

O-o-o-o-o

The days slowly crawled by, with seemingly no progress in any form of the search for Axton. Frisk had been at the safehouse for nearly two weeks, trying to listen for any news over the regular television broadcasts, to no avail. He had gotten Mattias to allow Toriel to continue healing Undyne, and as a result she had quickly reached nearly full health with her assistance, much to Frisk's relief. After what felt like forever with no progress, he finally got the phone call he was hoping for.

"First Sergeant Reese was arrested earlier today. They caught him trying to board a flight out of the country."

Frisk nearly shouted with victory at the news. "So, was he the one that did it?"

Matthias's voice sounded enthusiastic, clearly Frisk was not the only one happy about the find. "Oh, yeah. Confessed to the whole thing. I took a look at the bank records of the five Raven Company members. On the same day of the assassination, just an hour after it happened, 38 _million_ dollars were individually wired to _each_ of their accounts. Definitely a paid job."

Frisk whistled. "38 million _each_?! That's nearly 200 million dollars right there! What kind of person has that kind of money and spends it all on an assassination?!"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out next," Mattias grunted. "Though...I have a lead. The wired transfer was bounced all over the world, but it was definitely foreign. Somebody outside of Reston ordered them to do it. We're still tracing it back, but I think I already know who it was. I don't want to say anything on the phone, but just know that we're making serious progress. I'll call if I get any further updates."

Frisk sighed. "Yeah, thanks. Happy to hear it." The two of them hung up, but before Frisk even set the receiver down his phone was ringing agin. He looked at the number, and frowned. This person in particular didn't usually call. He...didn't usually do much of anything. Frisk answered.

"Sans! I'm a bit surprised to see you calling."

"yeah, well this was a bit important to ask you about." Sans's voice had lost its joking flair, Frisk had noticed.

Frisk sat down in the armchair. "Well, what can I do for you?"

"how are you feeling? 'bout everything that's goin' down, i mean."

Frisk rubbed his eyes. "It's tiring. I kind of wish there was...something I could do about it, you know? It sucks just being holed up here with nothing I can do."

Sans's tone was deadly serious. "buddy, i know things are lookin...kinda bleak right now, but it looks like the worst might still be coming. there's a lotta tension running around, especially politically. i just want to make sure you aren't going to...reset or anything like that."

"Sans, I made a promise to you back then that I would never reset again. I intend to keep that promise."

"alright. just...we gotta have some faith, y'know? doesn't seem to be a whole lot of it goin' around lately."

Frisk sighed. "Yeah. I hear you. Chin up, right?"

Sans chuckled. "yep. i'll talk later, alright?"

"Mhm. See you." Frisk then hung up, leaning forward in the chair. Sans's words echoed back to him. He wanted to have faith. He really did. But he wasn't sure if there was any faith left to hold on to.


	14. Declaration

Matthias straightened his tie as he walked down the hall towards the meeting hall for the Prime Summit. He felt a pat on his shoulder, and glanced it over to see Kara nodding at him. The plan had been formulated by the two of them, and now they were ready to spring the trap.

They entered the meeting hall just as the final world leaders arrived and got themselves settled. Once silence had descended around the elegant room, the prime minister of Reston spoke.

"I would like to start things off on a more...solemn note. As most of you know from international news, Asgore Dreemurr, king of the monsters, was shot and killed in his own car a few weeks ago while en route to a federal courthouse for sentencing." There was a solemn silence as several of the leaders looked down at the table before Matthias continued.

"Investigations into the shooting revealed that the killing shot had been delivered by a sniper placed high up in a building nearly two miles away. The driver was also shot by the sniper, before the car careened into a crowd of protestors. From there, four gunmen opened fire on the car. All four of these gunmen were killed by reinforcing officers. In total, twenty-five people were killed. The driver, Dreemurr, the four gunmen, the four police officers escorting Dreemurr, and another fifteen civilians caught in the crossfire. There were another dozen civilians wounded."

He paused to let the information sink in. "The fact that the sniper's bullet came from two miles away was startling, and puzzling to me. But, as it turned out, the shooter was a member of an elite assassin squadron known as the Raven Company. A group directly under my command, or...so I had thought. First Sergeant Axton Reese, the sniper, was arrested trying to flee the country. He admitted to being bribed to launch the assassination, though I didn't know by whom. Looking at bank records, I uncovered that a shocking 38 _million_ dollars had been wired to each of their accounts following the shooting."

Some of the leaders murmured, talking amongst themselves before growing silent again.

"The money was from an international account. Now, it was bounced around though every country of the world, including my own, but...the trail finally stopped, in Vaerin." He looked over to the Prime Minister of Vaerin, noting how he seemed to grow more uncomfortable by the minute.

"Minister Keech, what I find very curious, is the funds did not stop just anywhere in Vaerin, but they stopped in a government building. To be precise, the main parliament building. This was an account that you would have direct control over."

Prime Minister Vernon Keech leaned forward, folding his hands on the desk. "Just what are you accusing me of, Minister Hemmingway?"

Matthias grew impatient. "What I accuse you of, Vernon, is for international crimes against the country of Reston."

Now, all the eyes in the room turned to Vernon, who began to chuckle, knowing the jig was up.

"I will give you credit, old friend, you were always resourceful, and very persistent."

Kara raised her voice, "You not only financed, but _ordered_ an illegal _military_ operation on foreign soil, an operation that, might I remind you, has cost nineteen innocent men and women their lives?! Why?!"

Vernon leaned back. "To put it simply, the monsters cannot be trusted. We are getting too chummy with our new neighbors. I fear that if we do not do something now, they will eventually revolt and wipe us all out, one by one. The only way to stop them is to wipe _them_ out first. I am not the only one that feels this way. In fact, the presidents of Yokall and Meslux, along with the dictators of Klazun and Daica, agree with me."

Matthias looked around to each of them in turn. "Do you all feel as he does, and support his actions despite their illegal nature?"

All of them nodded in turn. Matthias grunted. "There is only one way this can go. I urge you to reconsider. But...seeing it as you won't, I will take it as a declaration of war against the nation of Reston."

"And if you declare war against Reston, you declare war against Estines. We will fight to defend freedom and liberty alongside our companions, to ensure that your world of tyranny does not take over." The leaders of Astren and Truseon both also voiced their support for Matthias, who stood.

"I do not believe there is much more to say in this meeting." He looked coldly at the leaders glaring at him around the table. "I hope when we meet again it is under more...favourable circumstances." With this, he stormed out, leaving the other neutral leaders looking uncomfortably around the table at each other.

* * *

The footsteps echoed around the thick void, the skeletal figure approaching the cloaked monster gazing down into the pool, watching as Matthias left the Prime Summit's conference room.

"It has begun."

The Riverperson nodded. "Indeed."

Gaster glanced sideways, trying to see the face beneath. "What do we do now?"

The Riverperson hummed softly as he looked up. "We wait, and watch. We have done everything we need to do, we have put all the pieces into place. It is now up to Frisk and the others below to see themselves through to the end."

"Do you not feel any grief for Asgore's death?"

The Riverperson chuckled. "Of course I do! But I have had centuries to come to terms with it. You forget that I have seen this approaching for longer than you have been alive."

The skeleton shook his head. "I still do not believe that Frisk is ready. He needs more time to mentally prepare himself for what is coming."

"Time is something that our friends, our children, do not have. They will have to find a way to pull through."

"What if he can't though? His Determination is waning, you can sense this as well as I! It isn't hard to see. Did you see how divided and disturbed he looked during the trials? I simply cannot believe he will find the strength he needs! If you ask me, we should have told him what would happen years ago, given him more time to prepare himself."

The Riverperson turned on Gaster. "And what would that have accomplished? It would have disrupted the entire flow of things, he would have attempted to avoid all of this!"

"Wouldn't _you _have done the same thing?!" Gaster shouted.

The Riverperson's response was cold. "That is not the way things work here, old friend. It is not our job to help Frisk stay determined, only to ensure that time flows on as it is supposed to, no matter what comes of it."

Gaster grunted as he began to stalk away. "That may be our job, but that does not make it right. That is a concept that I know personally, better than you ever could."

The Riverperson watched him go, then sighed, shaking his head. He stared back into the pool, though as he did, he couldn't help but feel the smallest twinge of guilt.

* * *

"We begin tonight with a breaking news story from the Prime Summit. War broke out between several countries just earlier today. Prime Minister of Reston, Matthias Hemmingway, held a press conference earlier today to address this."

The shot was directed to Matthias, standing on a podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the world. I regret to inform you that yes, we are at war. This war is directly related to the murder of Asgore Dreemurr, and the nineteen civilillians that were gunned down in the crossfire. The assassination was actually an illegal military operation both financed and authorized by the nation of Vaerin. Supporting their cause are the nations of Yokall, Meslux, Klazun, and Daica.

"These countries have all expressed that they feel great distrust towards monsters, fearing that they will attack us and overthrow our governments, declaring all-out war against humanity. I tell you, this is not the case! The monsters of before no longer exist! The only ones that live today want to go about their lives in peace! The nations that stand against us are incapable of seeing this and as such, they have chosen to stand against us, and try to eliminate us. Their objective is to destroy any and all monsters they come across, and they will try to kill _anybody_ that stands in their way!

"I speak to you people of the world today, to warn that there will be no neutral parties in this war! For if you do not stand with them, you are an enemy like the monsters! And they will come for you too! In this war, every single man, woman, and child, will be forced to choose a side. But I humbly _beg_ that you choose to stand beside myself, and the nations of Estines, Astren, and Truseon! We must fight to keep liberty and freedom alive in this world! Do not forget that we abolished the monarchies to ensure that such cruel tyranny could _not_ take hold of the world again!

"But, I cannot speak for you. I must allow you to make these choices for yourselves. But, if you stand by, and do nothing, while innocents are slaughtered, I hope you can find it in you to look in the mirror, knowing that you let this happen. There are dark days ahead of us, and we must continue to march towards the light. On this day, in this very hour...the War For Monsterkind has officially begun."


End file.
